Chronicles of Clan Kayze
by Commander Starforge
Summary: In the outskirts of the Pentastar Alignment lies a small farming-planet Magloran. It is insignificant in all but name. Coming to claim it is the Mandalorian Clan Kayze in the spirit of the Neo-Crusaders of old. Will they succeed in bringing back a glorious Mandalorian empire, or will they fall into ruin and oblivion? Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of its contents.
1. Planetfall

_On the planet of Magloran in the Anorelga system  
8 ABY_

Equipped with no armour at all, simple scraps of metal and leather; we exited our small space ship. My rifle was handmade, just like my pistol and knife. Our ship was hijacked from a bunch of trandoshan smugglers, and it had not been easy. Our vantage-points had been good, and our execution of the assault had been close to flawless. Still, eight of our forty men were killed in action, and ten more were wounded so we had to leave them behind. They were now denied the glory of completing this first mission, this last trial, our first steps into a much larger world. The first guys out eagerly secured the perimeter. The ship had been equipped with impressive scanners, and no signs of intelligent or dangerous species had been detected within four kilometres range. Our pilot had given us the "all clear" before we landed. I checked my power-cell again, and it dipped just below seventy percent. Being denied the glory of killing in the last fight only made me more eager for the next engagement. If I was given the chance, I would soak the ground with the blood of my enemies. The blood of my clan's enemies.

"Perimeter secure." Marrigous said, and his voice filled out earplugs. He was in command of squad four, the backup detail. Their job was to reinforce us and protect the ass of the assault groups. No one answered him, but instead did a weapons check.

"Squads one through three. The target lies beyond the mountain to our west. It should be eliminated by tomorrow night. Follow the orders from your chosen leaders, and this mission will be a success. Cael out." The leader of squad one said on the main channel before he turned his attention to his squad. The men still alive after the hijacking were divided into three squads with six men each, and squad four had four men. My own officer, Pald Jassin, signalled for third squad to assemble around him. He was a strong man with a weapon to rival his strength. In his boldness he had chosen to not make a close-quarter weapon. He was confident he could kill anything if it came close enough. When everyone were present and accounted for, he started giving out orders.

"This is what happens men." He said, as the moon came out from behind a cloud and bathed us all in a pale light. "Our target lies just beyond that mountain," he pointed at the mountain in question, and turned back to us. "We are taking the northern flank, formation wedge with Erdal and Shaz on the far north." That was me and our shotgunner. "Eta tomorrow by midday. I want radio-silence until the target is in sight. Everything is a target out here, but do not engage unless you have to. Is that clear?" He asked and looked at every one of us nodding back to him. "Good. For Clan Kayze." He said, and we echoed his words so low that only we could hear it. The other squads were still talking when we assumed our positions. I was on the left with Shaz, one hundred metres to the left of the squad. Between us and the mountain lay miles of thick forest. The fauna in this region was mainly herbivore and the predators small, so the wildlife would not be posing a threat to us. Still, I kept my safety off. The steady humming of the ship faded as the crew turned off the engines.

"Permission to speak sir. Over." I said into my microphone as Shaz checked his shotgun again.

"Granted." Jassin replied.

"Will squad four set up any defences while we're away?" I asked, and Jassin promised me he would check up on it. "Understood. Erdal over and out." We waited for another five minutes before every squad was fully restocked and ready to go. By then, squad four had decided to deploy two automated turrets close to the ship towards at the opposite end from where we were. They had some grand ideas of a minefield as well, but the lacked the explosives to make an effective minefield. I shook my head for a few seconds before we were given orders to march. I did my best to memorize the path we were following, and always I looked to the mountain when the roof of leaves for once opened up long enough. I could not let my eyes linger for too long on the mountain and stars. We were out here without sensors, proper communications or any good intelligence. We only knew our target and location. Our enemy could be everywhere. We had been walking for six hours under radio silence, and a weak sense of tiredness had slowly come over me.

I took a wide step to the left to avoid a hunter's snare. We had encountered a few, but they were few and far between. All of them were empty.

"Not a popular part of the woods eh?" Shaz asked rhetorically, breaking a silent streak of two hours.

"Doesn't seem like it brother." I replied, and looked around a little. There were no signs of any activity at all. A few leaves fell in the distance, and a few birdlike creatures sang in the early hours of the morning. They had short beaks, and underneath their feathers I could clearly see scales. They would be of no protection against blaster-fire. I took aim, but stayed my hand. Jassin would cut my head off slowly if I opened fire.

"See anything?" Shaz asked and crouched.

"Just mucking about. Nothing to worry about." I replied, and he stood back up. "Just a bird." I muttered slowly, and kept walking as a slow breeze rolled in between the trees. It carried no scents I could pick up. Shaz had a keener nose than mine, but he did not smell anything noteworthy either. The sun rose in the east behind us, but gave us little warmth as it could not break through the canopy. We moved so silently, not even the animals sensed us before we were only a few metres away, and we did our best to not scare the birds either. I doubted the enemy would be on the lookout, but it had never done any harm to be careful. My clan was not strong enough yet to face a large army. My brothers and I were the first generation of warriors from Clan Kayze, named after our valiant ancestor Scarrath Kayze, who had been a crusader under The Mandalorian Wars close to four thousand years ago. His armour was a sacred relic, guarded safely on board our mothership by at least a full platoon of war droids, or so I had heard. I was almost ashamed at the thought. We were too few warriors even to guard our own relics. I corrected myself a second later, and was even more ashamed. We did not even have any warriors. I bit my tongue to not fling out a curse. I got a small nutrient-bar out of my pouch, and took a few bites. When I was half-done, I handed the rest to Shaz whom eagerly ate the rest of it. Our earpieces crackled to life suddenly.

"Halt!" Jassin ordered, and we stayed put.

"Cover," I mouthed at Shaz, and we found cover behind two trees and a bush. He took the safety off his shotgun, and we both watched the forest around us with a sudden eagerness. My eyes darted back and forth between the thick tree-trunks. We waited in silence. If there were enemies about, Jassin would have told us.

"Squad one encountered some hostiles, but they were taken without casualties or alarm." Jassin informed us three minutes later. The entire squad stayed silent. "Squad one took a few prisoners it seemed, and they are leaving behind one man to guard them. Hang on… I am receiving new orders. Keep moving, I will inform you later Jassin over and out." He said, and we followed his orders, but our advance was more careful now. Neither Shaz nor I spoke. We were both tired, but we stayed on our toes. At least half an hour passed before we had the mountain on our right, and in the distance, I could see smoke rising up in the air a hundred metres before it dissipated. It had to be the village.

"Jassin! Do we have eyes on the village? Over." I asked, breaking the radio-silence. It took Jassin a few seconds to reply.

"Squad one left a man on overlook in the mountain. No reports has come from him yet. Keep radio-silence. Over and out." He answered.

"Not in a talkative mood is he?" Shaz asked sarcastically. The more tired he got, the grumpier he got. I nodded. Suddenly a new message buzzed in.

"A change of plans Erdal. I want you two to scout around the left side of the village. Orders from the leader. Over." Jassin said, and I sighed.

"Aren't we tired enough already?" Shaz growled.

"Is Shaz complaining again?" Jassin asked, and I laughed.

"He is Jassin. We will scout ahead. Should we engage or avoid targets? Over."

"Avoid targets, return fire if necessary. Report to me when you're done. Jassin over and out."Jassin said, and his signal stopped.

"Seems like we're not tired enough." I answered Shaz, and felt the backside of my very tired shins. I looked around, and found a rock about half my height. Before having a quick look around, I sat down and took a deep breath. Shaz sent me a questioning look. "Five minutes won't matter much will it?" I asked him, and he nodded approvingly. We both got our canteens out. It did not take a sharp nose to smell the watered-down alcohol from Shaz's canteen. "You ought to drink something else with that. Have you eaten anything today?" I asked. Having Shaz drunk on a stealthy patrol did not seem like a good idea. He held up a piece of haarshun bread. I poured a little water on it, broke it in half, and we both started eating. It was part of yesterday's rations. The food-stores on the ship had been near empty and the selection was meagre. In the end, we had eaten some of it, and saved the rest for later. It had at least saved us a day's rations. I kept my eyes on the clock, and did my best to restrict the pause to only last five minutes. When the break was over, we moved on despite Shaz's complaints.

Not that conversation had flourished on this mission, but now it died. Carefully we snuck between the trees in a circle about sixty metres from the treeline. We followed a small path until we reached the treeline around the village. Silently we followed it. Every hundred and fifty metres or so, we stopped and had a look at the village. It was relatively large with more than forty huts. The village-people were up and about, doing their farmer-business and none of them seemed armed. We repeated the procedure before we finally spotted something of interest. Armed troops were suddenly crawling along the border of the village. Small tents had been erected some time ago and was surrounded by barriers and a sensor-fence. I could not see a munitions-stockpile, but I knew there had to be one there. Overall, it looked like a defendable compound. The soldiers wore freshly manufactured uniforms, and their emblems said they were part of a regiment I had not even heard of before. All in all, I counted two squads about to leave the compound for patrol-duty.

"That is one well equipped fem-trooper." Shaz said, and I sighed at him. We had an imperial outpost in front of us, and all he thought about was a fem-trooper.

"Just shut up." I replied quietly. He was starting to get on my nerves as he always did.

"No seriously, look!" He said, and pointed. Reluctantly I turned my head and looked. At the far south corner of the compound, I spotted a fem-trooper and the rest of her crew behind an E-Web turret. A weapon like that could easily tear through even a light-tank if it was given a quarter of a minute with uninterrupted fire. We both scanned the perimeter of the base, but saw no other heavy weapons. I did a headcount and took notes before we moved on again.

"Do you think we have enough men to take that base?" Shaz asked when we were at a safe distance. We walked slower and with more caution than ever.

"Men, no. Mandalorians, yes." I answered.

"Such a bloody patriot." He replied, and we both snickered a bit. None of the patrols had seemed to be heading in our direction. We still moved very carefully nonetheless. I did not bother screwing on the silencer I had brought along. If we met a patrol now, a silencer would not be of any use at all. A firefight would still be louder than a crashing speeder. We managed to remain undetected through our entire patrol, and we never had any close calls either. All in all, I was very pleased with our work when we returned to Jassin.

"Recruits Shaz and Erdal reporting in sir!" I said when ceremoniously when we linked up with the rest of our squad. Jassin had left some signs that only we mandalorians were supposed to know about. The squad had not been on the lazy side it seemed. They had found a small secluded and sheltered grove and set up a small camp. It was well camouflaged and hidden, complete with lookouts and firing-positions. Some of the lucky bastards had managed to get some sleep while we were out.

"Good. Anything to report?" He asked from inside his little shelter.

"Yes sir. A small compound with at least a full trooper-company and an engineering squad with an E-Web turret. Sensor-fences surround it and they have patrols on duty." As we delivered the news, a worried look came over Jassin's face.

"Did you manage to identify their insignias?" He asked, scratching his chin.

"I have never heard of them before sir, but their armour was too shiny to have seen any serious action." I answered matter-of-factly.

"At least that is something." Jassin muttered. "You two are dismissed for now. Get some rest." He ordered just before he called for Mica, the squads designated runner. In the distance, we heard his orders and he took off. He was to run to squad one and relay our intelligence to them.

"You forgot to mention the fem-trooper." Shaz joked, and we laid down in an unoccupied shelter. They were small and made of wood, but that was all the luxury we needed. We had slept in far worse anyways.

"Not worth mentioning," I replied. "At least not until we've seen her face."

"True," Shaz replied. He took his helmet off and I undid my mask. "We better get some sleep though. If I know Rackay right, he will be planning some shit soon." Rackay was the leader of Squad One, and thus in charge of the mission. He was an uptight recruit with experience as a raider before he came to Clan Kayze.

"True." I replied and shut my eyes. The singing of the birds was not enough to keep us awake, and we only stirred when someone asked us if they should fill our canteens. The grey trees had branches filled with large green leaves, giving us excellent cover from the sun. While Shaz and I slept, gears were put into motion. The squads assembled in silence and without detection. When the others decided to wake us, none other than the Second in Command from squad one kicked us back to life. Aiden Saraz was his name, and he too was an experienced raider.

"Get up. Jassin and Rackay wants to see you."

"Yes sir!" We both replied almost at the same time. We jumped to our feet. The sun was still shining from its highest point in the sky when we marched to the centre of the camp. All squads had assembled here in a circle around the three officers. Jassin impatiently waved at us and we sped up.

"You wanted to see us sirs." All eyes were on us. There was a certain tension in the air.

"Yes. You both scouted the village and spotted a Remnant compound armed with a stationary heavy turret and forty soldiers at camp?" Jassin asked. Shaz and I nodded. On the ground before us, they had drawn the village according to the maps we had seen before the mission.

"There were also patrols, but we did not try to figure out their routes." I added.

"Draw the compound for us please." Jassin ordered. Shaz stood still as I bent down and grabbed a stick. I filled in the compound as best I could, marked the turret and the entrances and exits before I stood back up again.

"Firezones?"

"Don't know them sir." I answered.

"Doesn't matter much anyways." Rackay said, and turned towards the rest of his men. "This is the Imperial Remnant we're going up against. I'll bet those smugglers we were fighting had more experience, but these men are more prepared." He started walking in circles, measuring every man among us. "However!" An artistic pause ensued, "… We have the element of surprise, and we will make the most of it. Shaz, Erdal, you two will guide our troops into position. Everyone else but officers and second in commands will prepare for an immediate assault." The assembly dispersed, and only officers plus Shaz and I remained.

"Since you two have had eyes on the target, you're our scouts." Rackay turned and said once everyone was out of earshot. "Squads one and two will take up positions on the southern and northern side of the village respectively. Squad Three however, "He turned to Jassin, "will split up and engage any returning patrols or reinforcements." Jassin nodded in agreement. He had no other option anyways.

"And where will we wait to intercept?" Jassin asked, sourly. He was not happy to be denied his share of the glory.

"You will divide into three squads, two men each. Your goal is to delay the enemy, not defeat them. These two men here however." Rackay pointed at us. "Will attack the turret." My heart jumped into my throat. Taking an E-Web head on was almost suicide! "The other squads will take up position about one hundred and fifty metres behind the entry-points into the village. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Everyone from Squad Three sighed in unison. The next half hour Rackay spent planning the attack with squad one and two. They were going to attack the village and work their way southwards to take the compound. No prisoners.

 _Two lightyears away_

"How are my recruits faring?" Orsin Kayze asked. His voice sounding slightly dampened from within the silver-helmet he wore. A display came to life on the bridge of his frigate _The Restoration_. Behind him, droids were scurrying back and forth between their posts. The bridge was dark as the ship was kept on minimal power. No reports had been sent back since the squads had touched down and started moving. Still, only about a day and a half had passed and they were only recruits after all. The mighty figure folded his hands behind his back. They would have to return victorious or not at all. No distress signals came from the planet either. Kayze hoped for the sake of his recruits that they were just biding their time. For now, he waited patiently.

 _Back on Magloran_

Everyone was in position. The regiment now identified as The Pentastar Volunteers 15th regiment, and we were facing Executor Company. From their idle chatter we had been able to piece together information regarding their movements on the planet. There was a larger compound over seventy kilometres to the south, but they would not be able to get here in time to help this detachment.

Shaz and I lay in cover behind two large rocks, overlooking the compound from the east. We had both been equipped with scoped rifles and shotguns. Trying to calm my nerves, I took several deep breaths, but it did not seem to help at all. Shaz kept a close eye on his wristwatch, eagerly awaiting the time for our attack.

"How long?" I asked, clicking the safety off on my rifle.

"Twenty seconds." He answered, and looked down the scope of his rifle. "We spare the femtropper though." He suggested and took aim.

"Agreed." I answered quickly. I switched my aim from her to the man standing next to her. He had his back turned towards us. The last mistake he would ever make.

"Ten seconds." Shaz said, and in our minds, we both started counting down. A single drop of sweat ran down my forehead. Shaz was already prepared to relocate as we had agreed. I would hold the position here and he would flank right. "Five." I steadied my breathing, counted down, and fired. The red bolt raced through the air and hit the trooper square between his shoulder blades. He fell down dead, and a commotion arose like none other I had ever seen. Troopers ducked and dived as Shaz unleashed a flurry of bolts onto the enemy encampment while I kept the crew of the E-Web away from their heavy weapon. A few of the well-trained soldiers returned fire after no less than ten seconds, but their short E-11 blasters were far too inaccurate to hit us at this range. One of them held his head up too long, and he jumped back with a seared hole through his helmet. The femtrooper rushed towards the turret, and I kept my aim centred at her.

"Sorry!" I shouted, and pulled the trigger. She went down with a bolt in her left shoulder, and stayed down.

"Displace!" Shaz shouted. I did not spare him a single glance as he slid down from the rock and ran through the bushes. Enemy fire was still concentrated on me, and it was intensifying, which was under the circumstances good. A gunner managed to take up position on the E-Web behind the shields. I had been done for if Shaz had not started firing again. A hail of bolts rained down on my would-be killer and he fell dead to the ground before he could pull the trigger even once. I breathed a sigh of relief before I resumed firing. The stone I lay on grew hotter as more and more laser hit it. Leaves and even branches rained down on my head as enemy fire chopped them down. Deciding to play a little trick, I took aim again, and fired a few shots until an enemy shot hit the rock really close to me. I stopped firing then, and it timed perfectly with Shaz's relocating.

"I got him!" someone shouted as I hid from view. Peering over the rock, I saw the white soldiers shift focus towards Shaz. An officer took my bait and sent out a small group of five men to flank Shaz from my side. Smiling with glee, I took aim at the soldiers running out into the open. A quick burst sent two of them screaming to the ground. The rest ducked and cowered behind their fallen comrades or behind whatever miniscule cover they found.

"Time for some mercy-killing." I whispered. My heart was thundering in my throat, and my hands were shaking from the adrenaline. My first shot missed by maybe an inch, but the next hit home in a wounded trooper's head, and his screams stopped. His hands let go of the grass he had ripped out of the ground in agony. The rest were dispatched easily. The last one tried to run back behind the grey barrier he had jumped over, but he went down with a shot to the back of his thigh, and a follow-up shot landed in his neck. My sense of time twisted and turned until I did not know whether I had laid there for ten minutes or an hour. Smoke started to rise from within the village itself, but there came no messages or orders on our intercoms. Without a single word of warning, Shaz burst through the bushes on my right and threw himself down next to me.

"What is the situation?" I asked as the impact of a laser-bolt sent brown bark raining down on us.

"First squad is making good progress!" He shouted into my ear. "The Imperials have sent reinforcements sent into the village though!"

"Mean's they're doing good!" I shouted back with a grin. A sudden surge of pride came over me as Shaz met my smile. This was what being a Mandalorian was all about. The heat of the combat, and the honour gained from it. To test my mettle against opponents and emerge victorious was all I cared about now. "Still up for the femtrooper?" I asked Shaz.

"Mhm!" He replied and nodded, and without any further words exchanged between us, we went back to battle. The Imperials were indeed in deep trouble. More and more soldiers were sent into the village and only a handful remained to oppose Shaz and me.

"I'm almost out of ammo for the rifle!" He shouted, and I checked my power-levels as well. My situation was the same as his. About fifteen shots left if I was right. "Shotgun time?"

"Wait a little!" I shouted back. "I'll cover!" I said and switched to single-shot while Shaz emptied his blaster into the grey barriers, leaving black marks wherever he hit. Discarding his rifle in favour of his shotgun, he jumped over the rock and out of safety. The enemy was still far outside the range of his shotgun, and it was my job to get him safely within range. White helmets either ducked down fast enough to avoid being shot, or received a red bolt. The E-Web stood empty, and no crew was in sight. Their screams however were easily heard though. No imperials showed their heads for a good while, but I fired a few rounds where I knew some were hiding. Measuring Shaz's distance to the target, I counted my shots. Three shots left, and he had thirty metres to go before the imperials were within effective range. " _Thirty, twenty-five, twenty,_ " I slowly counted in my head. Letting my scope wander over the barricade and known enemy positions, I waited patiently. Once again, I had to get my breath under control, and my heart slowed a little. Red bolts suddenly raced towards Shaz, throwing the earth around him up into the air. He shouted a curse, and broke into a sprint. Shifting my aim quickly, I was not steady enough to fire an accurate shot, but the brave trooper fell down behind the barricade again. "Fifteeen, ten, five!" I counted loudly and fired my last bolt, just as an officer no less rose up from his cover. The black half-cape was caught in the wind and flew up; obscuring his vision for the short second it took my bolt to strike true. He jerked and fell backwards slowly, trying desperately to stay on his feet. I threw my rifle to the ground as a series of loud bangs echoed across the open plain. Shaz was within range. I wiped the sweat off my forehead in one swift motion, and got my shotgun out. Shaz had looted a grenade from one of the fallen troopers and he lobbed it over the barrier. Frightened imperials scurried away. Those who were stupid enough to stand up received a deadly blast from Shaz's shotgun. I jumped over the cover and started running. On the way, I crouched down and grabbed an E-11 blaster from a dead trooper. The blaster was almost fully charged, and as I ran, I fired on full auto. The recoil was manageable, but the accuracy was terrible. Still, it served its purpose. Shaz kept the enemy down, and I pulled out my knife and pistol. My new weapon hung on my back, knocking against my utility-belt as I sprinted.

"Clan Kayze!" I shouted as I rushed past Shaz and launched myself over the barricade. The imperials were caught off guard and I tore through one of them with my knife before two more fell to my blaster. A single bolt caught my shoulder, making me drop the pistol. A cloud of small metal hit the man's helmet, but did injure him. Seizing the opportunity, I yanked the knife out his fallen comrade and launched myself straight into the dazed man, ripping his helmet off in the process.

"You failed." I said into his ear, and shoved my knife through his throat. He gargled and spat blood in my face. I wiped the warm liquid off as Shaz shot the last imperial. All around the camp lay troopers slain by our hands. It was a surreal moment, and I had to take a step back to take it all in. The dead were beyond my ability to count at the moment. Bodies in white armour lay strewn around on the ground, on tables or against the barrier. Their tents were shot to ribbons or had been knocked over in the chaos. The man I had stabbed still gargled in his last moments of life before his eyes flickered and the light left them.

" _Did we do all this?_ " I thought, and took another step back. My reverie was broken when I stepped on my pistol and nearly slipped. I picked it up, and checked if I had damaged it in any way. Shaz got his pistol out and started rounding up the wounded. A few still had the strength to beg for mercy, but their prayers fell on deaf ears. Shaz yanked them to their feet and herded them out onto the plain we had just charged across.

"I shot the femtrooper!" I shouted to Shaz as I tried catching my breath. I had not noticed before how exhausting this attack had been. Shaz stayed his hand for a moment and flipped a wounded soldier over. "Shot her in the shoulder about ten metres from the E-Web." I went on as a red flash ended the man. He had been too hurt to save. Sounds of battle came from the village, but we could not help our men there in any way. With no information on how the battle went or even where our soldiers were, none of us would risk it. There was no need to even discuss the subject. I holstered my pistol and sheathed my knife. The E-11 would be my weapon for the rest of the day. Working my way towards the E-Web, I kicked chairs and containers out of the way. No more than four times did I have to put down an imperial, and none of them had the strength even to beg for mercy. Five more were sent Shaz's. As the sun slowly went down on the horizon, bathing the camp in a yellow light as it did so, I came across a trooper crawling towards the barrier. Judging by the pitch of the grunts, I had found the femtrooper. After a quick kick to the side, I flipped her over and proved that I was right. Why they made their armours sporting two gravity-well projectors, I had no idea, but I cast that thought aside. "Found her!" I shouted to Shaz. In a futile attempt to resist me, she tried pulling a blaster at me. I kicked that away too and kicked her in the head afterwards. Her helmet of course took the blunt of the kick and I pulled it off. A dazed and confused face came into view.

"Your kind of girl Shaz!" I shouted as his footsteps came closer.

"Brunette?"

"With brown eyes and fair skin my friend." I answered, and I could literally hear him grinning. Her eyes searched desperately after something to focus on. I sat down on her stomach, securing her arms under my legs. She growled in pain and her eyes found mine. Fury mixed with fear when she realized whom and what she had on top of her. She looked around for a weapon or help, I did not know, but I grabbed her by her chin and forced her to look at me. "Name, rank and regiment." I demanded from her. I assumed it was the only thing she would reveal willingly to me at the moment.

"Lave Melia, Trooper second class, Pentastar Volunteers 15th regiment." She snarled. Immeasurable hate gleamed in her eyes.

"She seems like a lot of trouble." I said and looked up at Shaz. He watched her with a certain gleam in his eye. I moved my hand to my knife and pulled it out. "Should I spare us the trouble?" I asked, and she instantly started shaking beneath me, and I looked back at her. Fear was now the dominant emotion in her eyes. In my peripheral view, I saw a trooper slowly starting to move.

"I'm on it." Shaz sighed, not pleased with having to leave our prey. In a moment of sadism, I saw an opportunity that surprised even me. I leaned down towards her and held the knife close to her face.

"You're scared of this aren't you," I stated more than I asked. Her eyes fell nervously on the shiny blade. She did not want to admit to fear so I stayed on the offensive. "My friend, Shaz," I said and twisted her head so she looked at him. "Is a lot worse than me." I twisted her face back towards me. Her face was growing pale with fear. "Fortunately for you, he respects me enough to listen to me. If it was up to him… Well, you'd wish you were dead." Taking an artistic pause, I looked deep into her brown eyes. "I can keep you alive and make your life liveable, but that means you have to behave. Is that understood?" I asked, and pressed the cold blade towards her cheek. She tried to mutter something, but it came out as intelligible garble. "I did not hear you Trooper Melia." I said, and pressed the blade down harder.

"Y-Yes sir." She stuttered, and I took the knife away. With a satisfied grin, I sheathed it audibly as Shaz returned. Stepping off her, I gave Shaz a reassuring grin.

"Stand up trooper! We haven't got all day!"

 _Aboard The Restoration, three hours later_

The reports were coming in now. One by one, the squad-leaders submitted their reports giving praise to the survivors and the honoured dead. The forces of Clan Kayze had been victorious and it was not a bad victory either. The planet of Magloran was an agricultural world, but the village they had just taken, grew medicinal herbs of medium value. The planet overall was very lightly defended, and of low value to The Pentastar Alignment. The clan might receive some light retaliation, but they could hold the planet. A small imperial base remained, and there were many outlying villages on the planet, but they would all come under his rule, one way or another.

"Bring the ship back to full power and plot a hyperspace-course for Magloran." Orsin Kayze ordered. More and more displays crackled back to life, and the lights came back on. He pressed a few buttons on the display and watched as the ship slowly came back to life. It was an old cruiser with old equipment, but that was all he needed. Almost all of his fortune was spent on this ship and the contents of its cargo-bays. Magloran would be a success. The fighters and the one bomber came online, but they were pilotless. Instead, they were controlled by slave-circuits with reasonable programming. As long as no distress signal was sent within a week, Orsin Kayze was sure his plans would work out.

"Run a diagnostic on the war-droids." He ordered as the navicomputer finished completed the course. "And prepare the ship for hyperspace. Launch when ready." The hangar doors and all protective shields were raised as the diagnostics came in. One hundred war-droids, fully equipped, stood ready and deactivated in their containers. Kayze threw a last glance into the vastness of space before the ship jerked and the stars turned to bright streaks around the ship. Magloran would fall and from it, Clan Kayze would rise again.


	2. By Fire Be Baptized

The loud rumbling of the smuggler-ship flying in woke me up. I gazed up at the starry sky through a small hole in the tent before I closed my eyes again. Shaz and I lay with the rest of our squad in a tent we had taken. I sent a hateful thought to squad four and rolled onto my back. Sleeping was impossible now that the rest of the squad had fallen asleep. What remained of it anyhow… Athei lay dead on in a ditch somewhere; Trace had more drugs running through his veins than I had ever seen in my life, his right thigh a complete mess where three bolts had seared their way through the muscles. To make matters worse: He snored loudly and was by now impossible to wake up. A good friend of mine, Calo Rost, sat outside and watched over Melia. Responsible as always, Jassin had ordered us to tie her up. She sat tied against a post with my blanket wrapped tightly around her for warmth. The regretful consequence of that became evident as Shaz changed his sleeping-position again. Generously he laid his arm and leg over me and placed his chin on my shoulder. It did not get cosier than this. One hateful though was not enough, so I sent another one to squad four before I struggled back to sleep. The warmth from Shaz did not help at all.

"Get up!" Jassin shouted into the tent in the morning. A few curses were muttered in return, and were answered by Jassin's boot. "Line up outside!" He ordered, sounding angrier than I had ever heard him before. One by one, we raced out and lined up in front of the tent. Everyone was wondering what the heck was going on. Jassin paced back and forth in front of us a few times before he finally started barking again.

"We have been given new orders." Jassin looked at Shaz and me now. "The ship has picked up a scout squad on its way here with reinforcements not far behind. Squad one is preparing the defence of this town as we speak, but they need more time."

"So we will ambush the enemy?" Calo asked, and Jassin nodded.

"Our mission is to buy time for squad one to mount the automated turrets and relocate the E-Web to a useful position."

"How many troopers are we talking about here?" I asked Jassin when he was at the other end of the line.

"A scout platoon." Jassin answered. "Which means we'll be up against eighteen troopers and ten scout-troopers. Nothing we can't handle. As far as we know, they are only on their way here to re-establish contact with this platoon. We are to proceed one quarter of a mile into the forest to the north and lay an ambush there. Any questions?" Shaz of course, raised his hand. "Yes, what is it Shaz?"

"What kind of ordnance do we get?" He asked, hitting the nail spot on for once.

"Our regular blasters, proximity-mines, thread-mines and grenades." Jassin answered.

"What use will thread-mines be of?" Calo asked.

"To make sure we're not flanked the fuck out of our game." Jassin answered sternly. "You'll see later. I don't think your mind would understand the tactic anyways. Get ready for marching mandalorians. We march to fight once again."Jassin said, and we started gathering our things. I had to admit, most of the warriors in the clan were quite thick in the head. "Squad dismissed." He ordered, and those who could walk ran back to the tent to fetch our gear. There was widespread grumbling, but that was to be expected. Everyone was tired. Quite a few were stupid to boot. Shaz had sometimes shown a glimmer of intelligence when under fire, but that was it. Calo was too stupid to do anything but follow orders. Jassin was a smart man, but he was too scared of Mandalore to think independently and operate outside mission protocol. I on the other hand was too scared of responsibility to be in command. I knew how to handle myself in a combat-situation, but to command a whole squad? I shuddered at the mere thought of it. I packed as much ammo I could bear without tiring me by the first mile. If I was right, we could be in for a long firefight. Shaz on the other hand packed too little for his rifle and too much for his shotgun. I shook my head at him, and he grinned in return.

"Who will be looking after Melia while we're gone?" Shaz asked. I pointed to Trace. Shaz laughed. "He will be useless even looking after himself."

"Not much of an alternative is there." I answered and closed the lid on my backpack.

"Point." He replied. Shaz was more of a vest-man. After raiding the imperial stores, we had stocked up on dry supplies and nutri-bars, and Shaz had food for three days. Four if he was careful. I had food for only two days, but ammo for five. When we emerged from the tent we saw Jassin in a quiet, but angry discussion. Cael was there, our temporary commander was there alongside a band of five men.

"You can't be serious." Jassin fumed and pulled Cael away from the men. I measured them carefully. They were armed with imperial weaponry, and their apparel was akin to hunters. "You cannot ask me to lead these strangers, these weaklings!" Jassin went on as soon as he thought he was out of earshot. He was clearly not, and the men shifted nervously. Seeing my chance to make some new... I could hardly call them friends... Acquaintances, was a more fitting word.

"And who might you be then?" I asked one of the brawnier-looking individuals.

"Conscripts." The man answered simply.

"The Empire had decided to enlist us for their army." A smaller one said and took a step forward. He had his E-11 in his hands like the rest of them.

"Eager to see combat eh?" Shaz asked, leaning over my shoulder. "Just can't wait to jump into the bloodbath?"

"No." The big one answered. "You seem like a stronger looking group than the Empire." He reason and shifted his blaster over to his back instead. They all had makeshift slings of either cloth or some bright-brown leather. Probably from a local animal. I gave them all a quick look-over. If the Pentastar Alignment had chosen these hillbillies for their army, the Alignment was either desperate or these men were actually promising fighters. The discussion between Cael and Jassin was still going on, but Shaz and I were doing a good job at keeping the locals from hearing it. Jassin kicked the ground, hard, and stomped over to his squad.

"Right! We have been given an attachment from the local hillbillly-battalion," He said, gesturing to the locals. "and they are to aid us in our ambush." The locals did their best to not show just how insulted they were. Jassin was sent a glare. "I hope you have provisions and ammo?" They nodded. "Good, because we have to stay in the field for as long as possible. Fall in behind me and my men. We will form the vanguard."

"Yes sir." A self-appointed officer said, and the hunters left. I was shocked now.

"Did I just..."

"Yes Shaz, you fucking did." I replied. What was left of squad three turned to Cael with fire in our eyes.

"The call of Mandalore can be heard by anyone." Cael said, answering our silent question. _What the hell was that?_ "The situation being what it is calls for desperate measures. These men are hunters, and they know the terrain. Use them as best as you can. That is an order." And with that final comment, he walked away. There had been no room for discussion, and Cael had made that very clear. Mandalore had left Cael in charge of the entire operation, and it was not Jassins place to question that decision.

"His call for mercy will be heard everyone when I am done with him," Shaz whispered so quietly I could barely hear him. Jassin turned to Melia and raised a brow.

"What the hell is a prisoner of war doing here?" He asked and turned slowly towards Shaz and me.

"Spoils of war sir!" Shaz answered theatrically and saluted Jassin. I followed suit with a sheepish grin.

"Name, rank and regiment." Jassin demanded, turning back to Melia who glared defiantly at him.

"Lave Melia, Trooper second class, Pentastar Volunteers 15th regiment." Melia answered. "Those two brutes of yours captured me, and I am their..." Her glare turned to us now "Spoils." Her words were laced with venom. Jassin sat down by her side and checked her left shoulder and face with gentle hands. She did not try to bite him, like she had us when we had tried to bandage her.

"Have you been seen to by a medic?"

"One of our medics survived the slaughter, and he saw to me." She answered as Jassin lay a hand on her bandage.

"His name?" Jassin asked as he stood back up.

"Kroan, Drex Kroan." She answered. "Medic the Pentastar Support Corps."

"I will have him see to you." He said and gave her a small smile before he turned around and marched over to Shaz and I. "She is your responsibility. You feed her with your own rations, and if she rebels, you will kill her yourselves."

"Understood." We answered and Jassin nodded. Raising his eyes he looked at the men under his command. "Fall in!" He barked.

The Mandalorians formed the vanguard and Hillbilly-battalion fell in behind us. As we marched through the village I got a good look at it for the first time. The roads were made of dirt, but the buildings were made of cheap rockrete. There were no signs of wealth anywhere, except when I looked at the building where they stored their crops. That building towered over the rest of them, and right next to it there was a small platform for spacecrafts. Currently, our ship occupied it. The entire complex was surrounded by both a sensor-fence and an electric fence. If I was not very wrong, the E-Web would be mounted on top of that storage. Seeing as it was the only thing of value in the entire village, the enemy would deem it too valuable to hit with artillery. When we passed the market, we marched straight past the captured imperials. They all glared at us, but posed no threat. They had been stripped down to their suits and were huddled under blankets by a fire. Two men were guarding them, armed with E-11 blasters. As I passed, I noticed that the safety was indeed off. Many imperials had been caught. I counted twelve heads around the fire. I gave the soldiers guarding them a nod of recognition before we turned left and out onto the road leading towards our next fight. Scared villagers were watching us from the windows between barely shut blinds. It looked as if they had just gotten used to the imperial presence before we came along and turned their lives upside down again. They deserved none of my sympathy and I gave them none. The wisest among them would hear the call and become one of us. The rest of them... Would end their pitiful lives on this worthless green rock. Behind us, Hillbilly-battalion followed, and when they were out of earshot, our earbeads crackled to life.

"This will be a fighting retreat." Jassin announced. "The enemy will hit us hard, and we will have little to no time to regroup. The volunteers are pawns to be sacrificed if need be."

"What happened to the call of Mandalore?" I asked.

"Sometimes it falls on dead ears." Jassin answered and we all sniggered for half a second. If one of them actually survived this, he would be marching with us the next time we marched into battle. For now though, they were dirt beneath our boots. I just hoped they would take their sweet time before they became dirt underneath the enemy's boots. We marched by the road for the first two kilometres before we found a small clearing and settled in there, five hundred metres short of our objective. "Spread out and take up positions. Camouflage and crossfires." Jassing ordered before he walked back to Hillbilly-battalion. Shaz and I dug in on the left side of the road, making sure to get enough cover in case of heavy weapons. While I dug out the trench, Shaz went a few hundred metres back and fetched branches and logs to reinforce our cover with. On the other side of the road, the hillbillies were digging out their own trench. Calo had been sent on picket-duty while Jassin planted mines on our flanks.

The spot was far from ideal, but it would serve us well. We had dug into a mound that had been dug out for the road, and in front of us stretched a rocky surface covered with moss, for about thirty metres or so. The forest beyond was light with only a few bushes. Visibility would not be a problem, but still... It would be deadly close combat.

"What is the word on enemy ETA?" I asked as Jassin came back from planting the mines on our side of the road.

"Less than an hour. Speeders first. Infantry close behind."

"Standard procedure then?" I asked back.

"Standard procedure." He answered with a tired voice and sauntered past my trench. "Any word from Calo?"

"None Jassin." I answered and he turned towards Hillbilly-battalion. They were not used to digging trenches, but they had copied me and Shaz's work adequately enough. Calo would stay with Shaz and I while Jassin commanded the Hillbillies. As soon as he reached them, they started planning a retreat. Shaz walked over to see the planned route, drawn crudely into the earth, as I stayed behind and tried to at least rest my eyes. As far as I heard, the plan was not really that complicated, and it only took them about ten minutes to plan it. The next fifteen minutes was spent lecturing the hillbillies about the importance of covering-fire and how to signal it. Two shots in quick succession to mark the beginning and then a steady pour of fire. I doubted they would remember the two quick shots. I had forgotten about them myself during my first firefight. A knock on the head made sure that I did afterwards. Orsin had been a tough commander. Downright brutal when I thought about it, but a man in his position, a man of his ambition and potential, had to be. We would all show those jet-pack-jumping jackasses of Mandalore how true Mandalorians fought. We would make them feel terror as Basilisk war-droids rained from the skies and purged their world of weakness. Somehow I doubted that I would be alive to see that day. I closed my eyes and let darkness descend. There was no birdsong. Just a slow breeze rustling the leaves high above. Leaning my head against a thick brown log, I felt the rough bark against my cheek. The last thought before I fell asleep was that I could maybe grow to like this place. The next thing I remember is Calo shaking me by the shoulder.

"Enemy incomming." He whispered. "Dismounted scouts in front, troopers hundred metres further back." My eyes jerked open. Jassin had heard the order and I could hear the faint sounds of blasters charging up. "Attack pattern."

"Numbers?" I asked and shifted my position so I lay on the wall of the trench. All signs of weariness were gone now, as if they had never existed. Shaz lay at the far end of the trench with his blaster ready.

"Twenty-eight men total." Calo answered. I scanned the trees and laid eyes on our enemies. Slowly, going from cover to cover, they advanced.

"Attack the enemy on sight." Jassin ordered, and I did not have to be asked twice. Red bolts flew through the air, cutting into trees, bushes and bodies. The hillbillies fired almost simultaneously and the volley felled one of the scouts. The other three were driven into cover. On our side, two of the scouts fell, but the rest threw themselves down and returned fire. Without forewarning, a speeder appeared behind their forward line and unleashed automatic fire on the trenches.

"Fierfek!" I shouted as a pair of red bolts came dangerously close to my head. The scouts were not bad shots either. More than once did I smell Calo's burning hair, and the hillbillies even had wounded. Red bolts danced through the air and the guns on the speeders ate away our cover. Dirt was thrown into the air and branches were clipped above our heads. "Fierfek!" I shouted again returned fire at a scout behind a tree. The trunk took the hits and was left with deep scorch-marks, but my target remained unharmed. We exchanged fire for two minutes before hell broke loose. They had probably found our mines or something because they focused everything on a frontal assault. Shiny white armours emerged from the depths of the forest and advanced in an orderly line. Seven men marched forward under the cover of the speeder and the scouts. The other flank must have looked the same.

"Watch the road!" Jassin shouted, and half a second later, four troops rushed forwards along the road. I turned my blaster on them, but they knew well where we were. By now we were horribly outgunned. I let loose five bolts in quick succession at the party advancing by the road, but only one hit the target. One of the troopers went down with a shot to the thigh, but as he screamed, the bastard returned fire. Another trooper dropped as well and let loose a storm of death at hillbilly-battalion. "Grenades!" Jassin warned as the two troopers who were still running got the grenades out of their belt. The situation was falling hilariously apart.

"Displace?" I asked quickly. The enemy was advancing dangerously fast. The scouts were at the treeline and the troopers were not far behind, the speeder had taken up position in the middle of the line and advanced with them. Hillbilly felled one of the grenade-throwers, and the one on our side missed the trench by a full metre. The enemy lines were thinned, but there was no way in hell we could hold.

"DISPLACE!" Jassin shouted. "Covering fire!" He ordered. I fired two shots in quick succession, and poured what was left in my power-cell onto the enemy. They did not even flinch, but one of the troopers went down with three shots to his torso. Hillbilly, Calo and Shaz made the run for it.

"Grenade out!" I shouted, and threw a poorly constructed improvized grenade at the enemy. That made them take cover. The squad by the road fell one by one as Jassin and I made deadly use of our crossfire, and then we displaced. I just spun around in the trench and rolled over the back wall, onto the grassy plateau and out of view from the imperials. On the other side, Jassin had done the same and he had a grenade in his hand.

"Grenade out!" He shouted and lobbed it over the mound as we both ran for it. Shaz and Calo had already taken up position to cover me. Hillbillly-battalion had ran farther and left Jassin high and dry. He did not seem to care though and spoke into his radio. The only word I picked up was "Extraction", and it sounded quite urgent. He was on radio with Cael. As soon as he reached cover, we all fell back. The four of us were nothing against the force attacking us. We had to link up with Hillbilly-battalion, or make a run for it. As we ran, the enemy did not seem to be in a hurry to pursue. Hillbilly had ran just sixty or so metres further back, and we linked up with them quickly. Jassin once again assumed command, and a line was assembled. We had two minutes to regroup before we heard the familiar whine of speeders coming from our twelve o'clock.

"Everyone on your knees, I want a focused volley on the road as soon as we see those speeders." Jassin ordered. Having taken up position behind a curve in the road we made sure that the enemy would have to slow down.

"What is the word from Cael?" I asked Jassin.

"The village is secured." He answered, not taking his eye off the road. "We will be picked up in a few minutes by landspeeder." No one answered, but the hillbillies sighed in relief as we waited. The howling grew closer and I tightened my grip on my blaster. If any of us fired early, we would blow our chance of success. "Fire on my command." Jassin said, as if he could read my thoughts. The whine grew louder and louder until the unlucky scouts came around the curve. "Fire!" Jassin ordered, and a volley hit the speeders head on. Three scouts were shot clean off their speeders. Others took hits to their vehicles and lost control. Somehow, one of them managed to evade all the shots and his fallen comrades, only to crash straight into a rock. His speeder became a twisted wreck within moments, and we all waited to see if anyone had survived the ambush. A silent groan came from the crashed scout as he took off his helmet.

"He's still alive! Shaz! Get him!" I ordered.

"Belay that." Jassin replied and fired his blaster at the scout, silencing him forever. "We need no dead weight." Everyone else silently agreed.

"He could have had useful intel." I argued slowly.

"Nothing we don't know already." Jassin growled back, not liking to be openly questioned in the field. Had he done his job right, I would not have had to. "Orderly retreat." He ordered, and we slowly backed off. The troopers would not be far behind, and we would not be stupid enough to be caught by them again unless we needed to.

"Should we not kill these bastards?" Shaz asked Jassin as the formations joined on our side of the road.

"Mandalore and Cael has a different plan." He answered. "Or so I am told."

"We are to draw the enemy out." I explained to Hillbilly-batallion. One of them crossed the road to my side.

"Why?" The man asked.

"What is your name?" I asked back. He was older than me, but smaller, both in frame and height and his hair was a dirty blonde.

"Jobe," the man answered.

"Well, Jobe, if we can fool the enemy to attack the village, we can destroy them there. Perhaps even fool them to call for reinforcements." I said and paused to listen for footsteps, but I heard none. "If I know Cael, he has left some gaps in our defences to lure the enemy in." I smiled. "You have probably used the same tricks while hunting." The man nodded faintly, not really wanting to see the similarity. The Call of Mandalore would not be heard by him any time soon. "That is all war is my good Jobe. One big hunt. The battle will stand at the village."

"Its name is Velyme"

"Excuse me?" I replied at the sudden outburst.

"The village." Jobe insisted. "Its name is Velyme.

"I can't say that I care that much, but thank you for the information." I replied and turned to Jassin. "Extraction ETA?" I asked.

"They are waiting just down the road. No extraction though unless we make contact with the enemy." Jassin answered, and we all settled in to wait. Jobe sat down with me behind a tree trunk. There was no sound except our breathing. Calo had ran up to the speeders and pulled them back to our position, and was discussing with Jassin what to do with them. Jassin wanted them sabotaged, while Calo said we could make use of them. I just closed my eyes and let them bicker, as long as they kept their voices down.

"You take things easy." Jobe remarked, and I snorted.

"Have to." I answered, not even bothering to open my eyes. "I've been in this business long enough to know when to take a nap and when not to." I paused and changed sitting position so I leaned against the trunk. "The enemy is pursuing us on foot. We won't see them for a good little while."

"If you say so." He said, and shut up for a few seconds. "I never caught your name."

"Erdal." I answered simply. "The nutjob carrying the shotgun is Shaz, and the guy bothering Jassin is Calo. Learn the names and do as we do and you just might live to see Velyme again Jobe." I said and smiled. "Perhaps you will even see greater things."


	3. Foothold

"Did the bastards retreat?" Jobe asked when the sun had begun to fall behind the mountains. We had been waiting for the better part of an hour now. Perhaps the enemy had really retreated. Or perhaps they were digging, using our old positions... "Do you guys have orbital scanners?"

"If we had them, we would have used them already." Shaz replied curtly. I gave him a knowing look. _The Restoration_ was coming, but we were forbidden to speak of it, even at the most private locations. The Hillbillies were muttering amongst themselves. "Lost their nerve have they?" Shaz asked Jobe discreetly and nodded in their direction. Jobe turned to get a look at them himself. Sighing slowly, he seemed to reach some sort of conclusion. He furrowed his brow.

"I think it's just the turn of events sir." He said and shrugged. "Couple o' days ago, we were to start training _with_ the Alignment. Now we're shooting at it." It was an understandable problem. At least to people who were seeing war for the first time.

"At least you're hitting it." I said, trying to make a joke. "Have you been to the garrison yet Jobe?"

"None of us have." He answered. We'd never even seen as many soldiers in our lives before they made camp in our field." He added. I pulled myself up into a sitting position and looked down the road. It was as empty as it had been all day. "Guess they have retreated huh?" Jobe said, sounding pleased. The veterans however were not. A superior enemy not giving chase to an inferior enemy on the retreat? It was unheard of. Our line had been spread out, and still we found no sign of the enemy. Either the enemy commander was a moron or he was waging psychological warfare.

"Are there other ways to reach the village except this road?" I asked Jobe quietly. He shook his head slowly.

"Not unless you want to ride halfway 'round the planet." He answered. I immediately stood up and walked over to Jassin.

"What do you want?" Jassin asked before I was halfway across the road.

"Aerial reconnaissance of the area and a retreat. There is nothing coming for us here." Quite a few of the Hillbillies turned their heads, and received a smack from Jassin. He stood up to and we walked a few dozen metres behind the line. "And I would like to know what kind of garrison the enemy has on the planet. I do not feel comfortable fighting an army with nothing but thirty men." Jassin said nothing, and thought hard on something. "We did not come here to wage a guerilla war." I said, using as much force as I dared. Jassin was a hard man when it came down to it.

"I agree." Jassin said when half a minute had passed. His eyes were cold when he turned to me. "Cael has misused the authority placed in him by Mandalore." I mentally took a step back. "We should have been pulled out hours ago." Jassin said, ruffling his hair in frustration. "The enemy is not coming to attack us, and a droid with half a processing-unit could do this job for us.

"Shall I give the order then? We have enough speeders to get back in two minutes if we want to." I suggested.

"No." He said, sounding unsure. "We will wait until morning. If the order has not come through by then, I will personally issue the order." he marched briskly back to camp and gave the order to stay put. One of the Hillbillies was sent to fetch water and another to start a small fire. We halfway dug and halfway built ourselves a well hidden fireplace. It was not much to brag about, but it was enough to keep the cold out of our limbs. Calo took the first watch after night fell and Jobe was sent on picket-duty further up the road, leaving me with only Shaz for company. The Hillbillies were either sleeping or not very talkative. At least not towards me. Jassin was having a quiet conversation with two of them. The first man was called Jelan something, and the other went by the name of Zeth. Zeth was the wounded guy and Jassin had given him some of his liqueur to help the man sleep. It had not worked very well.

"I knows a good spot for hunting 'round here." Jelan said slowly. "Should I go and see 'bout fixin some breakfast?"

"Denied in the possible strongest sense of the word Jelan." Jassin said quickly.

"Knife hunting then? No sound." Jelan offered.

"Any edible plants nearby?" I asked, to distract him a little.

"Well..." He said and scratched the thin hair on his head. "That is work for the womenfolk, but I suspect there should be some shrooms and brownroot round here... The animals like them at least." Jelan went on.

"Fetch us some bloody food then," Jassin said, and muttered something under his breath. The others had not heard it, but I recognized the word. " _Di'cut._ " We had been forbidden from using the language during this encounter. As far as the local populace knew, we were just raiders. Our Mandalorian background was to remain a secret until further notice. Jassin blatantly disregarded that order and went on and on about the Call of Mandalore. He managed to stay his tongue whenever there were someone not of the clan nearby though. "Nothing but roots and plants, and you eat first!"Jelan stood up, gave him a mock-salute and marched into the night. Before Jassin even gave the order, I was on my feet and leaned against a tree. His eyes found me and he tapped one finger beneath his eyes twice. I nodded and waited for a few seconds before I found Jelan's trail and followed him. He moved unexpectedly light, disturbing almost nothing as he passed. No snapped twigs, only a minimum of bent grass and he followed no trail. He stayed parallell to one, but it was fifty metres to the right. Out of habit, I unslung my rifle. My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. I could barely see the shape of Jelan as he followed the path into a small valley next to a little stream. I took up position forty or so metres behind him and watched. First he drank and filled a bottle with water, and then he started digging through up the roots of some large-leafed plants. The roots were thick and brown, and he stashed several of them in pockets inside his jacket. After having dug up six roots, he started searching near tree trunks with nothing but moonlight to help him.

"Aha." He said to himself before he started gathering mushrooms from between the root of a palm-like tree. The mushrooms were all white, and he gathered quite a lot of them from three different trees. His jacket looked a lot fuller when he walked back to camp. I kept a discreet distance all the way back. When Jalen came back into the light, I flanked around the camp and came in from a different direction. Slumping down next to the fire, I gave Jassin a thumbs up.

"Had a good piss sir." I said to Jassin. "Do you know what we should get after we have conquered this planet?" I asked as Jeland bega cutting the roots into slices. Jassin shook his head. "Low-flying aircraft with mounted E-WEB's."

"Can't fighters do strafing runs?" Jassin asked back.

"Strafing runs is one thing. Having an elevated and movable position of constant superior fire however, is not something a fighter can offer." I said and drank from my canteen.

"You mean like a platform. A hovercraft?"

"Exactly!" I replied. "Like the Trandoshans use all the time. They look damn practical."

"For hunting maybe. They would be like target practice for a rocket-launcher or an incoming fighter." Jassin argued, coming back to his point about fighter-superiority. It was a conversation we had had many times before.

"And it is the job of the friendly fighters to maintain air superiority." I argued back. "Any rocket-launching infantry will be well suppressed and terminated by the hovercraft and advancing infantry." The argument went back and forth as Jelan cut the roots. When he asked for a frying pan, I reached into my bag and got large tin bowl out. I removed the grenades and other military goods before handing it over of course.

"This'll do." He said, and poured some water in before he put it down on the edge of the fire on top of some coals. Once the water was boiling, he put the roots and mushrooms in.

"Aren't you using too little water mate?" Jassin asked after peering into the bowl for a few seconds.

"No." Our chef answered simply and stirred the soup, letting the water boil away as he slowly mashed and cut the ingredients into a fine mash. "I know you blokes have bread." He said, looking up from the presumably finished pale-brown mash.

"I'll fetch." Jassin said, and got up. After having extracted the bread from Shaz's backpack, Jassin kicked everyone in the boots, telling them that food was to be had for those who wanted it. Most wanted to sleep, but a small band gathered around the fire. Most of them just ate and went back to sleep without saying a word. The mash had a very strong and earthy taste, almost like eating peppers and... I had nothing to compare it to, but the bread seemed to dampen the peppery taste a bit. The wounded guy fell asleep after getting some hot bread, and Jelan followed suit.

"Suggestion sir." I said, catching Jassin's attention before he laid his head down. "Perhaps I should get back to base early. Give Cael some warning that we are going against his orders." Jassin gave it some thought.

"Do that. We all know how trigger-happy he gets at the thought of administering punishment."

"Who shall replace me on guard-duty then?" I asked, while packing my gear as quietly as only experience could have taught me. I could probably pack up a stormtrooper without him realizing it before I had him in my bag. I would have to try that one day.

"Wake Calo. Tell him 6-21-3-11-21, and he'll do it." Jassin said, putting his head down on his nicely folded jacket.

"What's it mean? Is it his authorization code or something?" I joked, shoving the barely clean bowl into my backpack and closing it up.

"He'll know." Jassin answered without even opening his eyes. Talking to him now would be useless. As soon as he closed his eyes, he was out. I followed his order, delivered the message to Calo after rudely waking him with a taste of water from someone's canteen. He had not taken kindly to it, but after being delivered his orders, he quickly sobered up. I knew I had not cleared it with Jassin yet, but I took one of the speeders anyway, easing out of the camp, making as little noise as possible. When I was out of sight, I turned the speeder on and literally flew the two kilometres back to base in less than a minute. I was in the market before anyone could raise their weapons, and of course, the alarm was raised. The second the guys from First Squad laid eyes on me, the alarm was turned off again.

"I want to speak to your leader." I said with sheepish grin on my tired face. One of the men guarding the prisoners jogged over to me. They still had not been moved to a safe location.

"He is in the storage-building by the landing platform." The man said. He wore a combat-helmet so I could not see his face, but I did not think I knew him at all.

"Thanks." I said, and got the speeder into gear, racing up the main street to the large warehouse. As I looked up, I saw the barrel of the E-WEB following me closely. There was a spotter up there, and he needed only look at me once before the gunner took his sights off me and back to the forest. It was early morning when I came up to the gate. The sun was about to come over the horizon when I met the men assigned to guard duty.

"Kalon!" I shouted to the officer on duty, slowing the speeder down so I stopped in front of the checkpoint. No blasters were raised at me, the men knew me well enough to recognize me instantly, even at high speeds. "Is Cael'alor in?" I asked, slipping into Mando'a for half a second. It translated loosely to "Officer Cael." Kalon raised his hand in a lazy wave.

"Cael does not want to be disturbed." Kalon answered, mimicking the tired grin I had when I rode into town. "Sweet ride." He commented.

"Thanks, but I am sure he wants to know that his troops are pulling out against his orders." I said assuringly. Kalon sighed, knowing he would get skinned no matter what he did. He barked out a simple order and the gate swung open. "Thanks." I said again and rode in. There was not much security once you got inside the rockrete walls surrounding the building. There was a single astromech-droid locked in sensor-mode and also a few cameras, but not a single armed man was in sight. The defence was probably relying entirely on the E-Web and the solid gate. Other soldiers were not too far away too. As I got off the speeder by the main entrance, I was surprised at Cael. He should have gathered all his troops in the warehouse. The doors were locked, and I had to use an old-fashioned button to ring a bell inside. After pushing the button in quick succession for about three seconds, I settled in to wait. I wondered if the villagers would be able to settle into their new lives with us in charge instead of the Pentastar Alignement. I remembered how my birth-father had told me about his fight for his homeworld during the Clone Wars. He had fought against the droid armies of the Separatists at first, and then against the Republic. My nostalgia was interrupted by one of the pilots opening the door. He was armed and held his pistol at the ready. "I've come to see Cael. There's an update coming from Jassin and the Hillbilly-battalion."

"Name and rank." The pilot replied, not taking his gun off me. Looking at his dimly-lit face, I saw that I had never served with him before.

"Erdal Tussick, Recruit." I answered him. He checked it up against a paper-list.

"You check out. What do you want?"

"I have a message from Pald Jassin to Cael." I answered. The man checked the list again, nodded and opened the door. "His office is down the hall, third door on the left. Big letters saying 'Manager."

"Got it." I said, and marched past him. The door was closed and locked and the pilot headed back into a room by the door. There was little in the way of security, but the pilots were probably all the firepower Cael needed to protect the building. Especially with an E-WEB on the roof. His office was easy to find. I knocked on the glass twice and waited.

"Get in here!" Cael ordered, and I obeyed. "Erdal? Right?" He asked as I swung open the door and walked in. "What is it you want?" Cael sat there in battle-armour. It was not a Mandalorian battle-armour, but it was the best we had looted this far. His rifle lay on a shelf behind him and his blaster lay on the table in front of him. Ready for action

"I am here to inform you that Jassin intends to pull out from the road and fall back to town." A vein on Cael's neck grew a tad redder. "We encountered a small scouting-party, but they were driven into retreat. There is no honour fighting an enemy that does not show up."

"Pald Jassin will do as he is ordered to." Cael rumbled in a dangerously low tone.

"Jassin suggests aerial reconnaissance instead of waiting for something we don't know might his us or not." I paused for half a second. "At least not when there is a way to monitor enemy movements."

"So he would have me launch the only ship we have and possibly get it shot down?" Cael asked back. "I think not."

"Whatever you thinks Cael'alor," I said trying to bring his anger back under control. "Cael will pull back." Mandalore had made a mistake when choosing Cael as an officer. He was too easily angered.

"I know." He said, and the fast rhythm his vein had been beating slowed down a little. "We could use the guys to move all the imperial gear over here."

"What about the prisoners?" I asked. "Shouldn't they be moved?" I suggested.

"We have no secure locations large enough to fit all of them. Don't worry about it. I'll fix it." He said, and waved me towards the door. "By the way!" He said, suddenly remembering something. "Talk to the pilots and ask them if _The Restoration_ has entered orbit yet." I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Mandalore is coming here?"

"Indeed he is." Cael answered with a satisfied smile. "Seems that Magloran has suddenly become important enough for him to come here himself. Pass along the message to Jassin as well. He will be glad to know."

"Yes sir!" I said, feigning a salute and exited his office, closing the door behind me. " _Mandalore is coming here?_ " I thought as I walked down the hallway to the pilots quarters. That meant either something was going on that we had not been told about, or that his plans for Magloran was being forced forward. " _We are not strong enough to occupy anything._ " I thought and knocked on the door. Perhaps Mandalore had some secret up his sleeve. Loud snoring could be heard through the wooden door, well before someone opened it.

"Whaddya want?" A sleepy crewman said, not the pilot I had been speaking to earlier.

"Cael'alor wants to know if _The Restoration_ has entered orbit yet." The man seemed to have to stop and think.

"Not last time I checked." He said, scratching his chin. "Braelor should be on the ship. Go talk to him."

"Will do." I replied and closed the door myself. I could figure out the way to the landing-pad myself. The outer door was easy to unlock, but it was surprisingly sturdy. It would probably take sustained blaster-fire for twenty seconds to tear through it. The door locked itself as I closed it behind me. The sun had risen in the sky and there came smoke from many of the chimneys in town. I turned left towards the landing pad, through a small unmanned gate and onto the pad itself. The ship we had captured was not a pretty sight. When we got the time, I would suggest setting mechanics to work on it. "Yo! Braelor!" I shouted up the open ramp. That too was unguarded. The sound of boots against metal came echoing out.

"What!?" A voice barked back, sounding surprisingly young.

"Orders from Cael!" I shouted back as Braelor came down a hallway and into view. He was dressed in a neat, but stolen uniform with several modifications. Where medals would have hung, there were instead small pieces of armour or metal, probably from tanks or from fighters. "He wants to know if _The Restoration_ has come into orbit."

"Let us find out together." Braelor said and pulled a thick cable from one of the walls. "Help me with this will you?" He asked, revealing his scrawny body. Braelor was truly thin. He would have had trouble carrying a day's worth of supplies for over a kilometre. He handed me the cable and brushed his unkempt hair out of his eyes. The cable was surprisingly heavy, but I had no problem following Braelor to the wall. "Name and rank?" The young man asked.

"Recruit Erdal Tussick." I answered. "And you?"

"Crewman Braelor Samhay." He answered and pressed a few buttons on an old interface. Immediately a panel popped open, revealing several inputs and outputs for different cables. Some I recognized and some I did not. "It goes in there." He instructed, and I shoved the cable into place, twisting a locking mechanism, and a green light flashed. "Good." Braelor said before pressing a button and a small humming-sound came from the interface. He pressed several buttons before he spun around and walked back to the ramp. I followed close behind.

"What are you doing?"

"Connecting the ship's computer to the orbital scanners of the warehouse. They're old, but they'll do the job." He said as we walked up the ramp. I remembered the inside of the ship well. There were stains of blood, alcohol, food and I could only guess different drugs everywhere. We had all been stowed into the cargo holds and crew quarters for the duration of our flight. Now the ship was eerily silent, running only the most vital of operations. When we came into the cockpit, I saw that Braelor had been snacking. "Help yourself." He said, gesturing to an box filled to the brim with dried nerf jerky. Not bothering to ask where he had gotten it from, I grabbed a handful and settled into the pilot's seat next to Braelor. "Give me half a second here." He said, tapping buttons here and there before a new display popped up on the holo-projector. A small bar showed up next to it and it was slowly being filled.

"That was easy."

"Not done yet." Braelor replied. "The scanner is starting up, requires a lot of energy that baby. After that, it will start mapping the surrounding space. Twenty minutes tops until we have full visualization of the planet."

"Does this work on ground level as well?" I asked, sensing the strategic potential of the scanner.

"Sorry, but it can only scan as low as ten kilometres above the surface." he answered simply. "It will detect a fighter-launch though, but it will barely register." he said and a pause ensued. I was busy chewing dried meat when he started rummaging through a box of personal belongings. "D'you play cards?" I swallowed hard. The last time I had played, I had lost a lot. It had been to Mandalore himself, but still... The memory taunted me.

"I'm a bit rusty." I admitted while going through the rules in my head.

"Republic Senate rules?"

"What difference does it make?" I asked back.

"It means we don't bet, we keep our clothes on and we don't shoot each other after match is through." He explained while shuffling the deck. Before I knew it, he had fished out two side decks. "Pick one." He said and laid the fully shuffled main deck out. I chose the one on my left, shuffled it and drew four cards, just like Braelor. Mine were +4, +2, -1 and +6. Not especially good, but not too shabby either. "You draw first." I drew a card from the main deck and laid it flat on my side of the deck. Braelor would lay his cards on the right. The card showed the number nine. Braelor drew the exact same card with a grin.

"Feeling good about your chances boy?" I asked and smirked, drawing a 4-card from the main deck. Braelor drew a 7-card and shook his head.

"Not particularly, no." He said as I drew another card. A sixer cam up, landing me at 19.

"Stand." I said, and laid my cards down. Brael was at 16, but wanted to beat me, so he drew another card. "Blast you kid." I said as he laid down a four, landing him at a solid 20.

"Just dumb luck." He said, pulling the cards back together to the main stack and started shuffling the cards again. There were still rounds to play. If I remembered correctly, it was first to three rounds. "I draw first." He said, and drew. He laid a fiver on the table while I drew a seven. The next cards were 2, 9, 2 again, a four and Cael stood at 18. I drew a three, raising me to 14. I played a +6, landing me at a solid 20. "Blast you this time," he said, and dealt the cards again. We managed to play through four entire games before the scanner started and began feeding in updated data.

"How does the scanner work?" I asked Braelor, seeing the enthusiasm on his face.

"This model works like a radar." He explained. "Probably works with a few satellites in orbit. It sends out a signal, and anything that bounces back registers." He said, tapping several buttons to zoom in on different parts of halfway-loaded objects in space.

"Could you turn it into a jammer then? Seeing as this thing is technically a transmitter." He stopped pressing buttons for a few seconds and stared out of the cockpit. He furrowed his brows, thinking deeply.

"I think so... I mean, I would have to do some modifications, but in theory, yes." He answered, nodding more to himself than to me. We spent the next minutes in silence while he scanned the system for _The Restoration_. "I'm not picking up anything on the local scan." he concluded after having looked at the last large cluster of floating rocks.

"Don't you have hyperspace-scanners? Long-range?"

"Nothing of the kind." He answered, but tapped a few buttons nonetheless. "There is a long-range scanner actually." He said, and brought up a different kind of display.

"I feel a but hanging in the air." I said, and after a few pushes of buttons I saw the gigantic 'but' for myself.

"ACCESS RESTRICTED" flashed across the screen in big red letters. "Schedule use of long range scanners with your local Pentastar officer" was written in white letters underneath.

"I hope we didn't just alert someone..." He said, just as a small light began to flash on his screen. "Shit!" He said, and switched to the local scanner. "We just picked up something... Zooming in now." The scanners worked painfully slowly. "Perhaps you should call Cael."

"Not until we have something to report." I argued as the scanner zoomed in. Images of a star-destroyer fully loaded with troops and heavy cannons for bombardment flashed across my mind. Twelve intense seconds later, I laid eyes on a ship commonly used by the Empire. "Is that a Carrack-class light cruiser?" I asked, grabbing Braelor by the shoulder.

"Does seem like it..." Braelor replied. "Identifying now." He pressed a few more buttons and the image became sharper. "The shape fits. Engaging visual scans now." He said and a on his screen there came a picture of a Carrack-class light cruiser fighting with its own momentum after just exiting hyperspace. The engines were fired up and it steered straight towards Magloran. As it adjusted its course to avoid a few floating rocks, the side of the ship became visible to us and we saw the insignia of Clan Kayze on its side. "It is _The Restoration_." And I could finally lower my shoulder, not even realizing I had tensed them.

"I'll tell Cale." I said, and jogged out of the ship towards the door and started ringing the bell.. The pilot was furious when he reached the door. The doorbell had probably not been pushed that many times in such a short timespan.

"Whaddya-" He managed to say before I burst in past him.

" _The Restoration_ has entered orbit!" I told the man as I passed him. Up ahead of me, Cael stuck his head out of his new office with a happy look on his face. "Mandalore has come!" I shouted up the hall.

 _Anorelga-system, close to Magloran_

"Start jamming everything not belonging to our mandalorians. I do not want a single message to escape that planet." Mandalore Kayze ordered, and the droids jumped to. A light began flashing on the left side of his view. His helmet was connected to the ship and he saw every process the ship was going through. The light was yellow at first and flashed five times before it changed to a constant green.

"Jamming successful." A droid chimed.

"Start scanning the planet. I want every garrison scanned and tagged, every village marked and evaluated. The enemy will die here!" He ordered. "Get me a channel directly to the squad-leaders." Every order was obeyed with maximum efficiency and it only took fourteen seconds before every squad-leader answered his call.

"Praise Mandalore!" They said as they entered the channel one by one.

"Mandalore." The leader, Cael began, when they were all present. "The village of Velyme has fallen to our hands. Jassin'alor has fought a small skirmish with the enemy. We report no casualties, and we have new recruits."

"Good." Mandalore said, not making a sound beyond his helmet. "How many warriors can you muster?"

"No more than thirty, and that is counting the new recruits in as well. We have several wounded men. A med-evac should be performed as soon as possible."

"Jassin!" Mandalore Kayze barked.

"Yes Mandalore!" Jassin replied.

"How would you judge the enemy from your encounters with them." Mandalore demanded.

"They are green my lord." Jassin answered. "Their commander is either inexperienced or feigning it well, but I would not put it beyond them. The strength of the local garrison has been estimated to a few above five hundred. A drawn out war of attrition seems to be our only option at this time."

"I asked for details about the enemy, not your battle-plan."

"Yes lord! They are inexperienced sir, and they lack proper officers." Jassin replied. "We have also managed to steel four speeders from the enemy, one of which is back in Velyme as we speak."

"Sai'alor!" Mandalore said, calling upon the last of the squad-leaders who had seen combat. "You are to prepare your troops, and requisition the vehicles you need." Scans began showing a small number of villages close to Velyme. "You are to take your men and and recruit fighters from the villages. Recruit all who will fight against the Alignement. They will prove their loyalty in combat."

"What if we encounter enemies?" Sai asked back, putting back together his rifle.

"You will evaluate their strength and either avoid or exterminate."

"Understood Mandalore. Will there be reinforcements?"

"Not any time soon. Your trial has not yet ended." Mandalore Kayze answered. "The fate of The Magloran Conquest rests on your shoulders still." He said. "You will have the maps of the planet and our surveillance, but that is it." There was silence. "All communications can be routed through _The Restoration_ if you deem it necessary. That is all for now. Bring honour to your clan. Mandalore out." Mandalore said, and the channel was shut down. "Send the initial scans of the planet to the captured ship." Mandalore shouted. The files were sent, and the diagnostics on the war-droids were completed. All of them were operational and ready. Mandalore knew the stakes, better than anyone else.

 _Magloran, Velyme Village_

Having their differences put aside by the arrival of Mandalore, the squad-leaders gathered in Cael's office. Marrigous was the last one to arrive despite being the closest one. On the desk was a hologram of the local area, and around it sat the four men in charge of the conquest.

"We must increase our numbers first. It is imperative that we have enough force to strike at the garrison." Jassin said, pointing to the fortress on the map, bringing up the enemies estimated strength.

"I can have my men ready to leave within the hour." Sai said, polishing his vibro-knife to perfection. "We shall take the villages to the west first and circle around in all the others before coming back here." Sai said, illustrating on the map. It was a simple plan.

"And how do you plan on bringing these people with you?" Cael asked.

"My men will take the speeders we captured from the Alignement. I have two plans for taking the new men back here." He stopped and turned to look into Marrigous' old eyes. "Either you fly them back here as soon as I have reported them in, or I will have to acquire larger transports. They probably have one or two available here in town."

"We could pull that off." Marrigous said, summoning the authority of over forty years in the field. "It would be safest and quickest. We separate them when they get back here, break their communities and train them in the Mandalorian spirit until we have soldiers ready to fight." Marrigous said, not bothering to run it by Cael. There was after all nothing to run by him. This was procedure they had all agreed upon before they made planetfall. Cael was willing to let it slide this time. Nothing good would come from challenging Marrigous.

"It is decided then." Cael said. "Moving on to other business. Should we or should we not harass the enemy, guerilla style." Jassin felt the Neo-Crusader spirit in him wake from its slumber.

"I say we bite and hold." He said, turning everyone's eyes to him. Biting and holding was a common tactic in war of attrition, but it only worked when you had larger reserves than they had. "I can take three or four of the men from Hillbilly-battalion to replenish my squad and we will take up position near the enemy garrison. If they come near us, we will stand and fight. We will not run unless we are forced to. Striking from the shadows is not the Mando way."

"Funny you should mention running away." Cael said. "Having disobeyed my orders to stand your ground by the road earlier today."

"That was a tactical decision." Jassin replied in the blink of an eye. "The enemy refused to show, so we left the field of battle."

"So you ran." Cael fired back.

"Watch your mouth." Jassin replied through his teeth. Marrigous, sensing the incoming disaster, moved the conversation on.

"I suggest we put the matter to a vote." Jassin and Sai backed him up and a vote was held. Cael, who saw it as a misuse of warriors lost the vote, three to one. He had the grace to bow to the majority though.

"That settles it for this time." Cael said and shut off the holo-projector. "We reconvene when there has been a development. Dismissed.


	4. The Die is Cast

The next day, Jassin refitted his squad and recruited four new men, bringing his squad up to eight men. Not a formidable force, but strong enough for the task ahead of them. The newly recruited men were named Jobe Mayde, Quill Mayde, Sindre Hind and Loback Lowhill.

"Stand at attention!" Jassin yelled to his men, both new and old. Trace stood at the edge of the line alongside me. He was off the painkillers now and he was pale as a sheet. His rifle was slung over his shoulder and he had stolen an imperial chestplate and painted it black. The Hillbillies managed to stand in a straight line at least. "We have been given new orders, and those orders are that whatever I say goes! We are to take the fight to the enemy. We are to dig in at a strategic location north of here by the Pentastar garrison and give them a run for their money. I have chosen you men," he said, spinning around on the spot so he was looking directly at the line of men newly recruited from Hillbilly-batallion, "because I think you might amount to something one day. From this moment and forwards, there will be no Hillbilly-batallion anymore. You are recruits and members of Squad Three." I could actually hear the little blighters grin. "You have three hours to say goodbye to loved ones and pack equipment and food for the march. We will be in the field for an unknown period of time. We have also been given free use of captured war-material, including armour. Just don't use the whole thing and please, repaint them. The white armour sticks out wherever you put it. Dismissed."

"Yes sir!" The Hillbillies said in unison, but Jassin did not care and just walked away to our tent to get some rest. He already had all the gear he could want. As the others dispersed, I jogged after Jassin and patted him on the back. "What is it? I'm tired."

"Of course you are." I replied. "Two things sir. First: We could weaponize your smell and drop it over the enemy to win this thing. And two: What shall we do with Melia?" I asked, cutting straight to the point.

"Take her with us." Jassin answered, sounding as if that was the only logical course of action. "She is your bloody responsibility. I thought I made that clear to both you and Shaz." He had of course.

"Won't she be a liability in the field?" I asked, trying to find a way to leave her in camp. She would be an extra mouth to feed and an extra person to watch. Jassin sighed heavily.

"The way I see this, you have three choices." He said and brought up three fingers on his left hand. He placed his right thumb on the first finger. "One: You have to shoot her in the neck." He moved his thumb to the right and opened his mouth again. "Two: You have to hand her over to Cael and his brutes, losing your right to her as spoils of war." He moved his hand over to the last finger. "Or three: Accept the bloody responsibility and drag her into the field with you. Turn her into a Mandalorian or die trying." He answered. "Now, I do not want to be disturbed until at least half an hour before we leave. Get a shower yourself, and shut up and get ready." Jassin barked, ending the conversation.

"Will do!" I said and spun around on the spot to find Shaz supporting Trace as he sat down on a crate. "You okay there Trace?" I asked and laid a hand on his shoulder. He did not even look up. His eyes were entirely focused on something on the ground and he did not relax before he sat down.

"No." He answered. "Won't be able to carry my gear."

"We'll carry it for you then." Shaz said, stroking his other arm. Trace shook his head. "I can't come."

"Of course you can." I said, "Don't disgrace your clan." I said. It was a dirty move, earning me angry looks from Shaz and Calo.

" _Di'kut_." Calo mouthed at me. It could have been worse. Trace shook his head violently as if to clear it out.

"We need someone to watch over Melia." I said. "We're bringing her along." I said.

"The trooper?" He asked, finally looking up.

"We split your gear between the four of us, and there will be no problem. You have plenty of kills to make." Shaz said, presenting a very ugly, but reassuring smile. Trace seemed to take heart and nodded.

"I'll do it." He said, returning the smile, somehow making it look uglier than Shaz had. We all gave him a pat on the shoulder or a friendly slap on the back of the head. "You go get ready." he said. "I'll watch her." He went on and nodded towards Melia. We all went separate ways, I prioritized getting a new armour while Shaz reorganized his backpack to fit more ammo. Calo went to find Jelan and learn how to find food that would not kill us. All the corpses had been buried by the Pentarstar troops. All their equipment had been stripped and sorted inside the warehouse. I walked up there, joined a gunner from Squad One on the way up to the warehouse as well. He was going to get some food so we parted ways when we were inside the first gate. He went to the ship, I went through the now open door into the warehouse itself. Instead of following the main corridor inwards, I immediately turned left and came to a series of smaller storages, originally designed for spare parts for ships, droids and larger machinery. The storage for ship parts was where I wanted to go. That spare parts had been moved to the 'larger machinery' section, and was replaced with rows upon rows of white Pentastar armour and E-11 blaster rifles and the odd handblaster, taken from an officer's corpse. I knew there was paint for camouflage on board the captured ship.

" _Haven't they given her a name yet?_ " I asked myself as I searched the rows for armour for my upper body and arms. I passed the 'bucket'-row, not even thinking about sticking my head into their helmets. It would have been an insult to my Mandalorian heritage. It took me a few minutes, but I managed to find a suitable set, and headed to the ship. On the landing pad I was met by a familiar sight.

"Hey man!" Braelor said whilst oiling the hydraulics for the ramp. "What can I do for you today?" it had been almost a day since we last saw each other.

"Camo paint. Don't want to be mistaken for a Pentastar trooper."

"That would be bad." Braelor agreed. "It's inn the cargo hold." He said as I passed him.

"Thanks!"

"Up for a game later?"

"Yeah!" I replied while walking down the hallways to the cargo hold. To call the substance we used paint was an insult to real paint. It was more like a goo for smearing. It came in different shades of green, brown and grey. I went with brown and grey this time and smeared it onto the plates. It stunk like hell for the first ten minutes. Then you got used to it. After ten more minutes the world would have to adjust with you or die trying. When it dried up however, it was odourless. Still tasted like shit though. I spent fifteen good minutes making sure I had covered every inch of the armour.

"I smell you all the way out here!" Braelor shouted at one point, but I simply ignored him. I was nearly done anyway. When I put the armour back on and walked out to me, he gave me an approving look and said "It is like talking to a floating head." He kicked out three crates from underneath the ramp and sat down on one of them. "I'll beat you today."

"Not a hutt's chance on Dxun." I said with a grin. Yesterday I had ended up thrashing him. "Still Republic Senate Rules?" I asked, and Braelor smirked. He was very lively today. The arrival of _The Restoration_ had affected him as well. Morale had rose by miles after the guys learned that Mandalore himself was watching us from the heavens.

"Don't worry Erdal, I'll let you keep your armour on today." He replied with a wink and drew his side-deck. On hand I drew -4, +2, -1 and +3. "You draw first." He said and I took his offer, drawing a 7. He laid out a one, while I drew a niner, placing me at 16. I did not stand, and drew a bloody eight. Spending the -4 card, I landed on 20 again, but the crewman had luck on his side and kept drawing until he too landed at 20 without using a single card from his side deck. He grinned as we tied the set and I shuffled the cards. The next set started with me drawing a 2. The sets passed quickly and Braelor won all the sets in a row.

"Care to go again?" I asked, knowing I had some time to spare before heading out.

"Sure." And the cards were dealt again. I drew two niners from the main deck and played a +2 card from my hand. Braelor kept drawing cards until it bit him in the arse and he landed squarely at 25. The first set was mine. We tied the next round, me having spent a card from the side deck again was down to two cards. He claimed the next set, and I the one after that. In the fourth set however, I decided to stand on 18 and lost the set. The next set would be sudden death. Braelor had luck on his side again, and I swore loudly as he landed on twenty. I landed solidly on 23, but spent a -3 card I had on hand, making the set a tie. Sudden death came again and we both stared intensely as the first card was drawn. At the end of the set, I was cardless and landed on 25. Cursing again, I kicked the crate. Braelor grinned. "Not your day it seems."

"Guess not." I replied. "But you know what they say. Bad luck in cards..." And I winked at him.

"If you find a girl on this rockball who is willing to have a good time with someone as ugly you, give me a call. I want to film it to prove that gods exist." I reached across the crates and slapped him on the head while we both laughed. It was a simple, but entertaining insult.

"While we're on the subject of ugly things." I said as he shuffled the cards. "Have you guys in Squad Four been given new orders?" He pointed at the deck and I gave him thumbs up. We drew new cards and talked as we played a new round.

"Seems like we're supposed to pick stuff up from the other villages. Work begins later today it seems." He said, and I watched with glee as the cards turned against him, landing him on 28. The cards were dealt anew. "What about you guys?"

"We're going to march and show the Pentastar troops the most efficient way to kill Pentastar troops." Braelor looked up with shock on his face.

"Weren't you guys decimated? How many men do you have?"

"New recruits from Hillbilly-batallion." I said, starting the new round. It did not fare well for him this time either. "We have a grand total of eight men standing, and we're going to take on a force that could muster up to five hundred angry Pentastar troopers."

"Someone's gone all 'Neo Crusader'." Braelor said, surprising me a little. Most of us had been watching holovids about our clan and its part in the Mandalorian wars. Few paid attention and Braelor had never struck me as one of those. I was about to reply when Braelor raised his left eyebrow and started looking too much like a question-mark for me to feel comfortable. The cards dealt him a stinging blow and I won my second set.

"What do you mean?" I asked and drew the first card. A sixer was revealed and Braelor got his normal facial expression back.

"Seems like I might have overheard some chatter between our leaders then." He said, drawing a card from the main deck, a tenner. "I was monitoring the channels, looking for some Pentastar chatter when I stumbled upon a frequency in use." He paused and watched as I drew a four. "They mentioned a problematic Mandalorian and I knew at once that they were among our own. I could not recognize the voices, but they talked, with great sarcasm mind you, about a guy possessed by the 'Neo-Crusader Spirit'." He said and drew a sixer and threw on a +4, making him smile as he landed on twenty. "None of the talk was polite. They said they hoped he got shot." My eyes shot open.

"Who were these guys?" I asked, drawing card like mad, but in the end I lost the set.

"Couldn't tell you if I tried."

"Recorded it?"

"Not a chance." Braelor answered and drew the first card, a solid one. My luck was much better, and seven seconds later, I won the set and the game. "Fits your officer very well though, doesn't it?" he asked, shuffling the cards again, but he put them away. He leaned forward and looked me straight into the eyes. "I find it... 'Discomforting'... If our leaders are fighting amongst themselves."

"I agree." I replied.

"Should we tell daddy Mandalore?" He asked with a low voice. If you asked me, that would be shooting birds with a turbolaser.

"I think not." I replied after some quick thinking. Nothing good could come from it after all. "I suggest we ride the waves until the situation stabilizes. Could you do me a favour though?" I asked, leaning back from him. Braelor nodded while looking nervously about. "If you hear this 'chatter' again, tell me directly and record it."

"No prob." Braelor said, crossing his arms. "I'll even throw in a recording as a bonus." He said.

"For the clan?" I asked with half a grin on my face. He returned it and nodded.

"For the clan." He said and an awkward silence ensued where we just measured one another. I noticed that he was armed. It was not easily spotted, but inside his thin jacket, her had a small holdout blaster. "Well... I have shit to do." He said and rose to his feet. "Get washed up and get food. If I hear anything, I'll contact you on C-09."

"Got it. Have fun doing transport duty!" I said and left him there alone. Did Jassin need to know about this? Probably not I reasoned. He already had a lot on his plate and he had slept poorly. The last thing he needed to know was that someone in our own ranks had it out for him. " _Indeed._ " I thought to myself and walked through the gate and past the goons of Squad One. The village had come to life and there were civilians in the streets. They were all poorly dressed farmers and they shied away as if I carried some deadly disease. I had been treated that way before of course so it did not matter much to me. At the well, I stripped down to my undergarments and poured bucket after bucket over me, turning a few eyes at the sudden display of skin.

"Cover yourself up!" One of the guys from Hillbilly-batallion shouted and laughed as they passed. "You'll scare our wives away." I did not grace them with a reply and simple laughed as I threw the sixth bucket of cold water over my head. I found that it cleared my head, a lot more than a slap in the face. I took good care to rub myself everywhere, making sure I did not smell, and that I was as clean as possible. One of the worst things anyone could be if they were in the field for a long time was dirty. A dirty body was a good place for bacteria to grow, making infections easier to come by. That was why some of the worst things a Mandalorian could be called was dirty or filthy. The words lazy also followed closly, both in degrees of insult and as a natural follow up. The trademark of a good Mandalorian camp was a clean and efficient camp. Now that I was thinking about it, I was unsure whether I had insulted Jassin too much by discussing the possibility of weaponizing his smell. There was no need to apologize to the man. He would just sleep it off anyhow. I smelled myself and put the bucket down for the last time. I sat there by the well for a little while, letting the sun dry me. The amount of farmers dwindled as they walked back to their fields after having eaten lunch. They were not dirty at all.

" _Perhaps they're herdsmen_." I thought, but I had not seen any barns. Or perhaps they had mechanized their fields with droids, and only had to do maintenance on them. It would be an answer to why they had at leas three different storages for droid parts. I put my comlink back into my ear, to see if anyone was chatting. The open channels were all quiet like I had expected them to be. It was about an hour left before we were to leave for the new battlefield. Then I remembered I still had Melia to take care of. I brushed the last drops of water off me and put my armour back on. It was odd to be wearing Pentastar armour. My Mandalorian armour fit a lot better, but then again, I had spent hours pouring over that armour, getting to know it better than the back of my hand, and modifying it to compliment my combat-style. I could even add some extra plates in a matter of seconds by clicking them onto a few simple mechanisms I had installed. The ability to turn into a walking tank had saved my life once, when I fought in the Virgillian Civil War. The aristocracy had paid well, and it was their money that had funded several upgrades on my armour. Now however, it was stored safely aboard _The Restoration_. I laid my rifle over my shoulder as I marched through town and into our camp. Trace had nodded off, but Melia was still awake and secured.

"Hello trooper." I said, and squatted down next to her.

"My arms are stiff." She said, not even looking at me.

"Well, you will be allowed to take a small walk soon." I said, and reached into my pocket, fishing out an old-fashioned key. Her eyes widened, and I reached her and unlocked the cuffs. "Now, I will trust you, just a little bit."

"Why?" She asked, slowly bringing her hands in front of her. I took a step back and trained my rifle on her.

"Because Trace here is wounded, and he is going on the little walk too."

"You want me to carry his gear?"

"That is only part of the reason." I said, turning the safety off. "We're going to see your buddies, and I am not allowed to leave you behind here with mine."

"So I am basically just a lifter droid?" She asked.

"Put politely, yes." I replied. "Get up." She obeyed.

"Yes sir." She said, making a mock salute. Pain flashed across her face at the sudden movement, and she dropped the salute.

"My name is Erdal Tussick. My friend who was with me when I captured you was Shaz. You know Trace and Jassin." She nodded. "Have you been on long marches?"

"A few times." She answered. "In full combat-gear too."

"Cute." I replied, and picked up Trace's bag. It was empty. Shaz and Calo had already taken their pick of gear to carry. "You will carry food and water. Nothing more. You know where to find it, correct?" We still had crates of food left over down here that we still had not moved. She nodded. "Good. Now get to. Any sudden moves and I will have to carry your load."

"Understood." She said.

"Ladies first." I said, and let her guide me to the food-stations the Pentastar troops had installed. The kitchen had been scavenged on the first day and moved elsewhere. The food however, remained. I watched in silence as she popped open crates and pulled out cans of food. Mostly fruits and fish I noted, but did not complain. She stuffed bags of water between the cans.

"How long are packing for?" She asked.

"I have no idea." I answered truthfully.

"Do you have any idea what you are taking on?" She asked, when she was done packing the bag. She would be carrying food for over a week in the field. Five if we rationed it right.

"We have a certain idea." I answered. "We'll be marching in less than an hour. If you want to clean yourself or something, now is the time."

"And you'll be watching?" She asked as we made our way back to Trace, who was still asleep, sitting on his crate, leaning against a wall.

"And I'll be watching. I'll be respectful and give you a curtain or something, but you will never leave my sights." I told her. She did not answer me, and slumped the bag down next to Trace. He did not even open his eyes. "Did they give him painkillers?"

"Yes they did. Strong ones." She answered. They would have had to. His wound was far from healed.

"How is your wound?" I asked, gesturing towards her old spot on the ground.

"May I sit here?" She asked, pointing towards an empty crate labelled "E-WEB-GENERATOR". There were crates everywhere. I nodded. "Medic Drex Kroan is good at his work." She answered. "I mean, it is not healed, but I can carry your shit for a few miles."

"Sounds good." I replied.

"And I want that shower please." She said. "I believe there is a female locker-room in the warehouse." She said.

"There is a locker-room alright." I replied. As far as I knew, there was only one, but there were showers there. "I'll take you, but don't spend too long in there. We are marching out in less than an hour." We walked up there in a quick pace. It took some explaining to the pilots about what I was doing to get her into the warehouse. One of the pilots gave us a dry towel. Melia had to give him a nice smile for it. We found the lockers, and I stood guard over her armour as she took a warm shower.

"Do you have any soap?" She asked as steam slowly filled the room in spite of the ventilation system's best attempts to keep the room clear.

"We don't have time or soap." I answered her, holding my rifle aimed at her. She was behind a rockrete wall, but it was too thin to protect her for more than one second.

"Don't complain if I smell then." She replied curtly.

"Just be thorough!" I replied, trying to guess the time. "If we're late, I'll personally make you carry my ammo as well."

"I have no doubts about that." She said, turning the hot water off for a few seconds. I thought she was done and reached for her towel, but she turned the water on again. "No soap?"

"No soap!"

Indeed, we were not late. A sleepy Jassin on the other hand, was indeed very late. No less than ten minutes too late did he come charging out of his tent like an angry zakkeg and twice as deadly.

"We march in half an hour!" He shouted, all red in the face as he charged into the forest in nothing but his underwear and blaster-belt. When he came back ten minutes later, he was soaking wet. "Go polish your guns or something!" He shouted, charging back into the tent. He managed to make more sound packing than an overheating and exploding E-WEB. He did however, break all current records at fastest bag-packing. When he finally emerged from his tent, he was fully dressed in armour and he held a devilish pace. "We move!"

 _Ten Kilometres west of Velyme_

The trees passed in a blur as Sai's Squad Two passed through the wood at the highest speed possible. It was not particularly fast. Sai'alor was not pleased in the slightest. They had kept an almost constant speed of twelve kilometres an hour, and they were just about halfway to their target.

"What is the name of the village?" He asked his squad over the comlink. They all knew of course, but he liked to check. The answer cam simultaneously four different voices.

"Santer!"

"Good boys!" He said back. "Everyone remembers the rules of engagement?"

"Don't shoot to kill. We're here to make friends." They all said, echoing his own words.

"Unless?"

"Unless we see Pentastar bucketheads."

"Good boys! I may have to throw you a snack when we reach Santer after all." They were still an hour from their target, and the it was not even midday yet. Sai had done plenty of recruitment runs before, but not quite like this one. During the Virgillian Civili War, he had found lots of people wiling to fight against the aristocratic dictatorship. Having the Rebellion's support also helped of course. Now however, he only had farmers to work with. The people of Velyme had not been mistreated by the Alignment. Not badly enough to warrant an insurrection anyway. Sai had to fan a flame where there were only half-cold embers left to work with. The people of the planet were just farmers and hunters. Few of them ever ventured off Magloran and fewer still had the interest of doing so. Luckily, there were plenty of villages to draw recruits from. They just had to get their first, and then others would follow. It was the same thing as running a store. Getting your first customer however, was hard. Another hour flew by before the Mandalorians raced through orchards and farmed fields, turning heads wherever they went. They delivered a message to everyone they saw: "Go to the market at six o'clock." Everyone obeyed, but many came carrying weapons. No Pentastar troops came to the meeting either, which was a solid bonus.

"I guess it is showtime Sai'alor." his lieutenant Kennon Mort said, giving his leader a solid nod.

"It is indeed." Sai said, and placed his one foot onto his speeder and hoisted himself up on it so he was at least half a metre higher than everyone else. As he looked over the population of Santer, he did his best not to groan with frustration. It was all he feared. Stupid and happy farmers with no reason to leave their homes. "Good people of Santer!" He said, falling back on the recruitment-speeches he had used earlier in his career. "I have come here to unite you against an enemy we may share." Some people murmured, nodding amongst themselves. At least the men with weapons were clustered together. None of them wore military weapons or armour of any kind. Controlled bursts would have them killed if they chose to fight instead. "The Pentastar Alignment. We have already liberated Velyme, and we came here. Not to force you to join us, but to ask you of your own free will! Nine men were to be conscripted from Velyme to the armies of Grand Moff Ardus Kaine! To serve his purpose." Sai paused to let the echo of his booming voice die down. "You may ask yourselves: How are these bandits any different?" A short pause again to let them think. "The answer is simple. We have not come to liberate you. _We_ will never liberate you, not now, not ever. We have come here so that you may liberate yourselves! Those nine men now serve us as soldiers on the front line of their own free will." Sai paused again, letting the message sink in. The people were talking in quiet voices amongst themselves.

"What about taxes!?" an older man yelled in a very thick accent. Sai could barely make out his words, but the answer was simple.

"We will want very little from you! Our armies can feed themselves and we buy our weapons and armour elsewhere. How much does the Pentastar Alignment take from you?"

"Half our crops!" The same old man yelled, and Sai could barely make out his words this time around too. Sai was proud of his fake laugh. It was convincing and useful. Especially in situations like this one. His laughter danced back and forth between the houses.

"We only ask that you give us one tenth. As we grow stronger, even less than that!" Sai had agreed upon these numbers with Mandalore himself. "We do not want to fight against you, but alongside you! Our fighters bring back spoils of war! Send your men with us and they can bring their own spoils back as well." Sai lied. After the recruits were done with basic training and war, only the fewest would return to their village. Once they were fully inside the Mando'a spirit, the fewest would return. "If anyone wants to join us, come talk to me." Sai said, and stepped down from the speeder.

"Good one sir." Lieutenant Karaz said and they all clicked the safety off their rifles. If shots were to be fired, the time was now. The Mandalorians watched as the crowd dispersed in peace. Only a couple of youngsters and a drunkard remained. Karaz checked his chrono. "A quarter to seven sir."

"I know." Sai replied. "If no one shows, we'll leave." And just as those words exited his mouth, one of his men named Caleb Roth pointed over his shoulder. "And what can we help you with son?" Sai said and turned around. What met him was possibly the sorriest sight a warrior ever saw. Sai first noticed the weapon. It was a seriously old laser rifle, one fed with small shells containing enough energy for one shot and the rifle only had a chamber. No magazine. The young man carrying it looked like he could use a lot more food than he was receiving. His bones were clearly visible along his body, and he was eating a piece of stinking dried fish. His dark hair was long and he kept it tied up in a horsetail.

"I want to come with you." The young man said. He was probably still a teen. "You need men to fight and I have a life throw away."

"Indeed you have young man." Sai said and laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Caleb! Give this man some of your rations. Our new brother looks hungry." The man's eyes widened as two protein-bars were dropped into his open hand. In between the mouthfuls, he said that his name was Shrewd. No last name. As soon as the bony boy looked away, they shook their heads. " _Bloody hell_." Sai thought, and as he turned to the market, an entire group was headed towards them. These were better armed and in better shapes. " _Hunters._ " Sai concluded by the look of them. "And you boys are?"

"Melden Sang, Kim Sang, Saul Hillcrest and Boul Hunter." Their glorious leader said, pointing to his friends one by one. They were all equally ugly, strong and in rough shapes. Their weapons were cheap and old. They had probably passed in the families for generations. "And I am Sill Uphill." The leader said, pointing his thumb to himself.

"You interested in joining us?" Sai asked, holding a firm grip on his rifle and turning on the full-auto mode as discreetly as possible.

"If I get to kill Pentastar bastards." Sill said, patting his rifle. All the Mandalorians heard the clicking of loose parts. In his mind, Sai marked him down for extra technical training.

"That you will." Sai answered with a grin. The recruitment was going well. They would part the chaff from the wheat later. A live-fire exercise usually did the trick. "Mort. Call for Squad Four. Tell them we have people to pick up, and tell them to bring more speeders. We'll need them." He said, and Mort followed his order. Other groups were moving in to talk to Sai and his men. "Caleb, deal with the drunkard." He said and pushed the man to talk to the wobbling drunkard. Or at least Sai thought he was headed for them. He was not sure. The man seemed to suddenly veer off in an entirely different direction before turning back to them just as suddenly. Caleb reached the man, stopped him and started talking, just as the first group met Sai and they started talking. By the end of the day, they had gained some new men, and some had decided that the fight was not meant for them. All in all they stood with twenty men and women wanting to strike against the Pentastar Alignment. "Have they named the bird yet?" Sai asked as the Mandalorians reconvened at the centre of their herd. "They really should."

" _The Fourth Son_." Mort answered. "Of course they would name it after themselves."

"Of course." Sai agreed.

"ETA six minutes" _The Fourth Son_ came swooping in from the east, landing on the outskirts of town.

"I heard you wanted a lift!" Braelor said through the secure channels as he let down the ramp. All of Squad Four and half of Squad One. They needed the extra guns. Just because the new guys signed up did not mean they were cleared of all suspicions. They would be flown to the second village to help with the recruitment there.

"Indeed we do." Sai answered, dragging his speeder behind him. The cargo-hold would be full of new recruits.

"How many?" Braelor asked.

"Round twenty."

"Ooooh." Braelor replied. "I'm not sure we can hold much more than that. May I suggest something Sai'alor?"

"Go ahead pilot." Sai said as they passed the last houses and entered onto an empty grazing-field where _The Fourth Son_ was parked. Second Squad had marched out onto the field and awaited the new recruits with stern looks on their faces.

"We take these guys back to Velyme and start their training. You keep one or two of them for display, and ride on to the next village. We pick you guys up there tomorrow." Braelor suggested.

"Agreed." Sai said. There was nothing to think about. Really. "Unload the speeders and I'll find the guys I want."

"Understood. Braelor out." The pilot replied and passed the orders on. As the recruits were herded into the cargo-hold Sai picked out the two men he wanted to bring with him: Sill Uphill and Boul Hunter. They were prime examples of the men they could expect to get. They would just slap a Mando'a-sticker on them before the new meeting tomorrow and show them off. Two speeders were brought out, and the new recruits put on them. As _The Fourth Son_ took off and flew towards the eastern horizon, Squad Two drove towards the next village to the south-west.


	5. Unions

Trace forced us to keep a low pace, but we made headway. Always racing for the enemy garrison. Jassin had taken us off the road, letting Jobe guide us through the woods. We had passed into enemy territory a long time ago. Melia was being a good girl, speaking in a low voice when spoken to, and she gave information that Jobe could back up. Whenever she tried to feed us patrol-routes or anything of strategic importance, we treated it as a pile of shit. Best avoided. Trace however, was quite talkative.

"So what does Pentastar troopers do on their day off?" He asked, running for goal at the first opportunity.

"Jumping the gun." Shaz mouthed to me and we both sniggered. Melia did to, surprisingly.

"Haven't had a day off since I joined the Pentastar Army." She answered, not sounding disappointed at all. "We don't get much of that. We just hang 'round the barracks. What do you guys do?" She asked back. Trace and she was in the middle of the formation. At the back walked Shaz and I. On our left flank was Calo with Quill, on the right were Loback and Sindre. Jassin and Jobe were on point.

"We fight." He answered simply. "And love our family."

"Sometimes we play ball-games too!" I said loudly. Trace nodded to himself.

"That we do!" He replied, and the chatter went on. Trace was either hyped up on drugs to be sensible, or he had forgotten his own promise to his ex-wife. "I promise! I will never find someone like you!" He had shouted after the ship that took her away. The details were a little hazy, and I was unsure whether that was before or after he opened fire. Well... Maybe it was best he never found another woman like her. She was an _auretiise_ , an outsider, and I meant that in a bad way. She had tried time and time again to pull Trace out of the Mandalorian way of life. She had failed every time. The final straw however was when Trace brought their eight-year-old daughter onto a battlefield. It had been a low-risk operation for little money. A simple protection-job gone sour. That was six years ago now.

"Trace!" I said, catching his attention. "How is your daughter?"

"Just fine thank you!" He answered. "Stowed away, probably polishing your armour by now." He said. So she was on board _The Restoration_.

"Why's she not here fighting with us then?" Shaz asked. Jassin turned around and gave us a death stare. If it meant "Shut up" or "Don't talk about _The Restoration_ " I did not know. Shaz and I did at least close the distance between us and Trace.

"There are other jobs 'cept fighting you know." He said with a knowing smile.

"So you were married?" Melia asked, finding a way back into the conversation.

"Indeed he was." Shaz and I answered, almost at the same time. "Happy it ended old boy?" I asked.

"A true pleasure it was. Was quite a hunt getting little Lek' _ika_ back, but it was worth every moment when I finally had her in my arms again." None of us knew how he found his daughter again, or even if his wife survived the hunt. Most of us thought she had not. He did call it a _hunt_ after all. Not a search.

"Was your wife a nice person?" Melia asked, unleashing out laughter. Even Calo had heard it and joined in.

"She was not!" Jassin shouted back to us, not able to stay out of the chat any longer. "One of the worst a _uretiise_ I have ever laid eyes on." We were speaking a little too much Mandalorian for comfort. The conversation dropped to a lower volume as time passed. As the sun came close to the horizon, Trace grew progressively paler. His groaning also became more frequent, until we had to stop. Our progress was slower than Jassin liked, and he was downright frustrated when we made camp.

"I'll find some food." Calo said and took off before Jassin could assign him picket-duty, or bite his head off. Jassin looked as if he could have lobbed a grenade after him. "Erdal, go after him, and take Melia with you! She'll have to learn this stuff."

"As you say sir!" I replied, as the rest of the men settled in around the campsite. "C'mon trooper." I said and stuck the barrel of my gun into her shoulder. She still wore full trooper armour. I carried her helmet in my bag, stuffed with grenades of course. She got up with only mild complaints and we followed Jassin to a nearby stream.

"The things have large leaves. We wants the roots." Calo explained. "There." He said and pointed. That was the plant alright. The last time I had laid eyes on it was in darkness and I was several metres away. He got a small shovel out of his belt and started digging. The plant was less than sixty centimetres tall and it had large leaves. Twice the size of my hand. "The roots grow pods or buds or whatever. Do not cut the roots themselves please." He instructed and started digging. Twenty metres below ground, he found the pods, and they were exactly the same as Jelan had dug up. "You only take one third of the pods. Or else the plant dies." He said and passed the shovel to Melia. "The next one is down there." He said and pointed.

"As you say." She said, and I slung my rifle onto my back. She started digging as well and quickly found the roots. Using the shovel, she cut off a good many buds before she filled the hole again. Then she moved on to the next plant.

"Done this before?" I asked her, stashing the buds in the empty pouches in my belt.

"We had some courses in basic survival. I don't remember them well."

"Practical or theoretical?" I asked.

"We watched a holovid." She answered, earning a laugh. "Better than you though." She said, throwing a bud at me. I caught it easily and stowed it in my belt.

"We have Calo for that." I answered. "He however, is not as good a shot as I. Besides, he is more of a plant-guy." I explained. On the other side of the stream, Calo was working as well. He had resorted to digging with a flat stone he had found. "Give me whatever beast, a knife and five minutes, I can shave of so much meat you could drown in it." I answered.

"It's true." Calo said. "But I'm better with explosives. You barely touch them Erdal."

"True." I answered. Explosives were dangerous stuff. I could use grenades and such, but the bigger stuff, I saved for the professionals. Calo however, he made the stuff.

"I think we have enough." Calo said, stowing the last buds in his pouches as well. He had been a lot quicker than Melia. She of course had every reason to sabotage and slow us down. In the field, too little food could, and would, kill you. "Soup or mash Erdal?"

"Mash." I answered. "Goes well with the bread."

"Agreed." he started cutting the bulbs on the way back. "Borrow the bowl?"

"No problem. It's on top." I answered as we came back to camp. A small fire was already going and the squad sat around it. Trace was already asleep it seemed, lying against a tree with closed eyes. His face was both serene and pained at the same time. It was a strange combination indeed. Before long, Calo had water boiling and the bulbs were being cooked and cut. He had learned the art of making mash. A quarter of an hour later, we were all enjoying dried biscuits with mash. Even Trace was persuaded to wake up for some mash.

"Tastes like dirt." He complained, but he ate his share.

"'S not so bad," Melia said, "but perhaps something with a little taste could make it better." The rest of the men were too tired to complain and went to sleep. The sun fell below the horizon before Jassin handed out guard-duties.

"Quill and Shaz! You're on watch tonight. Four hours, then you wake Loback and Erdal." Jassin barked and found himself a blanket. Everyone else went to sleep, even Melia laid down, but she stayed far away from Shaz. As the others settled in and fell asleep, I walked over to Jassin and sat down next to him. "What is it Erdal?" He asked, sounding not the least bit tired. His eyes were fixed on Trace, and I knew that if it had not been for his injury, we would have marched through the night.

"I am just wondering what the hell we are doing." I answered. "I am itching to fight, perhaps more so than you do, but we are eight men, and not the best eight men either."

"Stop insulting my squad and get to the point." He grumbled.

"I just want to know what you hope to accomplish." I whispered. He scratched his chin for a few seconds. He did not smile.

"I am no fool." He said at last. "What I want to do is to scout the enemy forces and send running reports back to Cael, and there is one thing I desperately want to know. Their fighter-capacity." He explained. I had thought of that too. If they had fighters, we would be in trouble. It was however, logical to not attack a position armed with an E-WEB that could shoot down fighters. His plan then, was to let the enemy know we did not have it with us. Then they would clear us out with air-support. "Don't worry. I have a plan if there are fighters, I have Marrigous and his ship on stand-by." He said, smiling slightly.

"I heard they were flying cargo."

"They will be done in a day or two." He replied. "By then, we will have dug in at a vantage-point and start a skirmish the next day. Now go get some rest." He said. At the mention of Marrigous, I grew suspicious. If there was indeed a threat or conspiracy against Jassin, this would be a golden opportunity. Marrigous would just have to arrive late, or not at all, and we would be done for. As I fell asleep, I could not imagine Marrigous stooping so low. He had a bond to his brothers and sisters. Like every Mandalorian had. Resting my fate in the hands of the men around me, I let my consciousness slip into darkness. Four hours later Shaz woke me and Loback for our turn. The moon was crescent and offered little light it seemed. The only thing happening through the night was was that I sent Loback out to fetch firewood and water. Apart from that, he was not the talkative type. C-09 remained quiet all through the night. Our watch was over an hour before sunrise. The rest of the camp awoke as Loback and I settled in to get some last minute sleep. "We have time for breakfast." Jassin said after noting the look on Trace's face. He was not bleeding at least. Calo went out to dig up some food, but when I woke up, I was offered some fruit instead.

"Low yield." Calo explained and threw a nutrient bar at me as well. I ate without complaint, and after erasing our campsite from existence, we marched on. Shaz walked in the centre today with Trace. After the fifth hour of walking, Trace surrendered his rifle in favour of a walking-stick.

"Piggy-back ride?" Shaz had joked when he handed him the stick.

"Sod off." Trace had grunted and walked on. Again the frustration was visible on Jassin's face, but he kept his mouth shut.

 _Imperial Garrison, Pentastar Volunteers 15th Regiment_

 _Kaide Battalion headquarters_

 _Magloran_

"Trooper Tassin reporting as ordered sir." The young man said offering his superior a salute. The old man behind the desk returned the salute, but kept writing on his datapad, letting the trooper wait. The trooper had no problem keeping himself entertained. The walls of the major's office was decorated with bones, weapons of different kinds, horns and stuffed heads. Being in the safety of his office, the major wore a simple uniform, offering no protection at all. His medals were discarded, serving as decorations in a display-case on the wall, next to his armour. Trooper Tassin's eyes widened when he laid eyes on the major's rifle, hanging on the wall directly behind him. It was a DC-17m with the blaster-attachment. Tassin had only seen those in old weapons manuals or holovids.

"Shoots straighter than the E-11 ever could." the Major said without looking up from his datapad.

"If you say so sir." Trooper Tassin replied, waiting patiently. The Major finally put the datapad down.

"I ordered the village of Velyme scouted trooper." Major Nex said, raising his head slowly. "Yet your patrol could not even reach the outskirts. Why is that?" Major Nex demanded, his cold eyes dug into the trooper.

"We were ambushed sir. The enemy was well dug in and well equipped."

"But inferior in numbers." Nex countered. "You had your speeders to rely on as well as two full squads of troopers. A full scout platoon." He let the words hang in the air. Now Tassin understood why the officers often said that Major Nex breathed poison. "Why could you not defeat an inferior enemy?"

"Poor leadership sir." Tassin answered, falling back on the only man he could blame: His officer.

"I agree." Nex said, taking his time articulating both words. On his desk lay a the after-action report side by side with a report from engineering and one from a civilian source, written in poor handwriting and sent by a bird no less. The hostiles were bandits as far as he knew, but they fought too well. They knew to dig in rather than build visible defences. He had noted there was no difference in uniform, but the group seemed to be a mix between locals and foreign bandits. "Make no mistake Corporal Tassin." Nex said. "We are fighting against a well organized foe." Tassin's eyes widened, but they were hidden beneath his helmet. Nex reached into a drawer and pulled out an insignia of rank and a notice of conscription. "The enemy is gathering his strength. So must we. Travel to the northern villages, those we have not visited yet and conscript whatever recruits you can. Be careful and do not cause an incident, or else your head will be mounted on my wall as well." Major Nex gave the newly promoted corporal a salute.

"As you say sir!" Corporal Tassin replied with newfound enthusiasm that his superior did not mirror at all.

"Dismissed." Major Nex said, and Tassin almost charged out of the room. When the grey metal door closed, Major Nex looked down at the reports. He had seen their like before and he knew all too well what they meant. The engineers reported a complete failure in interplanetary communications. The problem was not in their hardware or software. They were being jammed from a ship in orbit. The second report, from civilian, told him that the enemy was recruiting men from the local population, and they had had a good start. The third report worried him the most. Enemies digging in and who were either willing or disciplined enough to stand against a superior assault... It was worrisome at best.

 _Squad Three, Unknown position_

 _Two miles south of Pentastar garrison_

"So what was his wife like then?" Melia asked quietly. "What did you call her again? _Auretiise_?" It was strange hearing the word spoken by an outsider, an _auretiise_. It was stranger still to hear it from a person in enemy armour.

"She was an outsider." I answered. "Not understanding of our ways of life. Tried to drag Trace out of it." I answered in a whisper. She was coming dangerously close to a subject I was not at liberty to discuss.

"So you are a religious group then?" She asked, sounding like she had found something interesting about me finally.

"You can say that." I said, nodding more to me than to her. The Mandalorian way of life was more of a deep culture than a religion.

"So why did you attack Magloran? I do not remember any religious sites here in the tourist-brochure."

"But then again, don't you like holovids better?" I asked, she laughed.

"I do." She answered. "So this is a religious war?" She asked. It was my time to laugh now. I shook my head. "Then why?"

"That, I cannot discuss with an _auretiise_." I answered. "Do you play cards?" I asked, steering the conversation in a totally different direction. It seemed like she liked playing cards a bit too much, and won too little. She seemed to have lost almost three full months of pay to some trooper named Tassin. She spoke little of the garrison, or the personnel serving in it. All we knew was that it was at battalion-strength, slightly reduced now of course, Tassin served there and that they were equipped with speeders. Any attempt to intimidate her into giving information had resulted in failure, and in Shaz's case: A bacta spray. The other prisoners were no success either. All of them fed us different information. One told us we were fighting against troops on convalescence, another that they were simply there on a survival exercise. Their officer gave his word that the commanding officer on planet was none other than Grand Moff Ardus Kaine himself. The reports on unit strength also varied. Some said they were the only troopers on the planet, others said there were at least 100 000 troopers "in the bushes somewhere". It was a nightmare, but some of the officers had been carrying datapads, and we had confiscated a diary, or at least so I was told. When the sun met the horizon, we made camp. It was a sheltered small cave we found by chance. Loback and Calo went in to clear it and came back with nothing. We settled into the cave and started a small smokeless fire. Trace had trouble falling asleep, but after some of Jassin's liquor, he stopped groaning at least. Jassin took the first watch, and we ate nothing but plants and fruits Calo and Jobe brought back. It was a bountiful harvest, almost ominously so.

"Tomorrow we knock on the enemy's front door." Jassin said as we ate. It was mash with bits of fruit. No meat. "We will dig in, and pull."

"Bite and pull," all the Mandalorians in the squad said as one, surprising the rest.

"And we will make them remember Squad One." Jassin said. Everyone except Melia grumbled in agreement. I noted it, and made up my mind about something. It might be unpopular, both among my own and with Melia, but I had to.

 _Gaver Village_

 _Village Hall_

The Mandalorian soldiers stood in line at the far end of the room, staring into the opposite wall. Even the newly recruited ones had learned to stand in line. The council of elders had just gathered and they sat at their tables. The Mandalorians stood on each side of the door leading out into the hall. The room was lit by electric lights. In the distance Sai could hear the generators water wheels turning, and the generators run. The rain was drumming hard on the roof.

"The village council will hear Sai Kayze." A tired voice announced. It was not usual for the entire village council to be awoken and dragged into a meeting like this. It would affect their decision, Sai was aware of that, but it did not matter. He stood at attention, like he would if he was talking to Mandalore himself.

"I have come to ask you for the right to recruit from your villages." He said. The village-council of Gaver spoke not only for Gaver, but also for the smaller villages up the Kambay Valley as well. That was a total of three villages gathered into one council. The council itself consisted of four people. One from each village and one all the villages voted in by means of popular vote. Sill Uphill had told him as much. "It is for our war effort to liberate this planet from the grip of the Pentastar Alignment. We have fought them before and we have defeated them every time."

"So why do you need our youths to fight this war?" An older woman said. She had brown hair, but it was well on its way to be fully grey. Sai gave her a smile. The rest of the council would agree with her by default. He would pull the tax-card during the night. He just knew it, but that time was not now. He was far from it.

"Our military strength cannot eliminate the Pentastar presence." Sai answered, looking directly at the woman. "At least not soon enough. We know that the local troops are raw recruits and volunteers. We can kill them." He paused. "We will kill them, but if this war is to last less than six years, we will need the help of your villages to aid us bring a swift end to the war." The council looked in between themselves. The old woman was not convinced.

"So if we joined our forces with those of the Pentastar troops, the war would be over in a couple of days?" She asked, and Sai was unsure whether it was a joke or not.

"For you it would be." He said. "With all possible respect madam, we would burn your villages and slaughter you before three days had passed." He was unnecessarily blunt, but he felt the insult needed a proper reply. "Already the villages of Velyme, Santer, Boyd's Bluff and Riversside has joined forces with us. We number almost a hundred men, ready and willing to fight." It was only partway a lie. They were stronger, but the woman was clearly in favour of Pentastar rule. "Should you decide to withhold the rights to refuse, we will move on, no harm will come to you from our men." Sai promised, and that was truth. The Mandalorians would be little served having the population turn against them. The council turned to speak amongst themselves. The old lady became very agitated, but managed to keep her voice down.

"And should we agree to your terms?" The leader of the council said. He was an old man sitting at the centre of the group.

"Then you will be subject to lower taxes. If you want to join us, and be under our protection, we ask only one tenth of your income, whereas the Alignment takes close to half of your crops. Also, your soldiers will have the freedom to take back spoils of war to their villages." Sai answered. The council started mumbling again. "You may take as much time as you like debating the subject of joining us, but we would like the answer as soon as possible." The council seemed to agree amongst themselves.

"We shall reconvene in the morning." The leader said. "It is easier to think after a good nights sleep. You and your men are welcome to rest here for the night. There is room in the village hall."

"I thank you for your generous offer," Sai said "and we will take it. Tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow." The leader answered, and the meeting was over. Squad Two was escorted to their improvized quarters by a protocol droid. The village council would have a lot to sleep on. As the droid left them, the Mandalorians started unpacking and make themselves comfortable. The newcomers were more than ready to start asking the veterans about war stories.

"Sai'alor?" Karaz said, coming up on Sai from behind.

"What is it you want?"

"May I have a word with you in private?"

"Of course." Sai said, and they walked into the hall. As soon as the door closed behind them, Karaz and Sai walked down the hall.

"I am sure you have noticed sir," Karaz began, "but none of the villages this far have had landing platforms big enough to take in traders."

"I... Did not think that far." Sai admitted. That was why he had asked specifically to have Karaz on his squad. Karaz was sharper than he looked and he knew to hide it well. "It would make a great pressure point would it not?" Sai suggested.

"It would indeed Sai'alor." Karaz concurred, offered a salute and walked back to their room, leaving Sai to contact Mandalore. When morning came, the council would be in for quite a surprise.

 _Squad Three_

 _Unknown Location_

"Shaz! Can I borrow Melia for a while?" I asked while the others were busy getting a lesson in theoretical tactics from Jassin.

"What do you want with her?" Shaz asked, shovelling down the last bits of mash before helping himself to more. "Actually, I don't care. Just don't let her get away, and don't mess with the parts of her that are mine." He managed to say before the shovelling started again. The last remark had captured my attention. Melia who had been sitting close by had started listening in at the mention of her name.

"And what parts are yours?" I asked, halfway laughing. Melia's eyes widened. She obviously did not like the turn of the conversation.

"Hips and downwards?" He asked, looking up from his bowl. Melia clenched her jaw. I nodded.

"No problem. I'll take her with me then." I said, seizing her by her arm and yanking her off the ground.

"Just don't let her get away." Shaz said again. I dug into my backpack and got out a tin-box and a can of meat I had hidden away. Then I took some rope from the side of my backpack, and led her out of the cave. She complained angrily, but shut her mouth when I poked her in the side with a blaster. Once we had gotten far enough away from camp, I stopped her.

"Can I trust you not to hit me and run?" I asked her, holstering my blaster. She was fuming. Before she even opened her mouth, I knew exactly what she was going to say. Her rage was as hot as a blaster-bolt straight from the barrel.

"Depends on what you are going to do with the "parts you own"!" She raged.

"Nothing Melia." I answered, calming her at least a little bit. "My business is with your armour. It shines and could not camouflage a bush if it tried." I went on, and got out the tin box. "This is dark paint, used for camouflage. Let me paint your armour," I said and got out the can of meat, "and you can have this."

"Meat?" She asked, using a higher pitch than I had heard earlier. She was probably still hungry.

"Eight hundred grams of ground nerf and merlie meat, ready to eat out of the can." I said, seeing the light in her eyes.

"Throw in a small fire to heat the meat with, and you have a deal." She said. "But where will I be while you repaint it?"

"You shall be in your armour." I explained. "If you want to, I can paint you while you eat." She stopped to think.

"Deal?"

"Deal." I said, and started the small fire. It was not a grand thing, but it burned heartily before a minute passed. Another five minutes later it was roaring. Ten minutes later, it had burned down to hot coals and Melia was very busy hearing her meat on hot rocks. I had given her my knife to eat with. I myself was defenceless as I slowly walked around her, repainting her armour as she ate heartily. The meat made my mouth water. I had been saving it for a special occasion. Perhaps I should make this into one. "I'm done." I said, and sat down opposite of the fire. She did not have time for me. She was too busy to even lay her eyes on me. I doubted she would have noticed if I raised my blaster at her. Before I knew it, I was smiling. My lips had parted, and for the first time in years, I smiled with my teeth. Had I noticed, I would have closed my lips, but I did not. In front of me, I watched one beauty devour another. The can of meat was a luxury, but even with that mighty temptation in front of me, I could only see the person eating it. When I regained my senses, I thought it was only the lack of sleep making me faze out like that. It probably was too. "One last thing though." I said, forcing her to focus at least a little on me. "I wish to paint something else, on your chest, but I need your consent."

"Do you have any more meat?" She asked, scraping the last strips of meat from the can onto the hot rocks. She had taken extra care not to blunt my knife.

"Not on me, but back in Velyme I have a can or two." I answered. "Though this is not worth an entire can. "I lied. "What if we share? Four hundred grams each?" I asked. Her answer came without even a single pause.

"Deal." I stuck my finger into the paint and sat down in front of. I had never drawn it on armour with such visible female forms, but my drawing as exact enough, despite the warping effect of the gravity-well projectors. It was a simple ninety degree angle and at its bottom was a horizontal line. They were both ten centimetres in length and about a centimetre thick. On the left side I drew the Aurebesh letter 'K' and on the right side I drew a simple vibroblade. "What you drawing?" She asked. I could not tell her what it was. Or rather: I should not. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep getting to me.

"It is the insignia of my clan." I answered. "Clan Kayze. Ring any bells?" I asked as the last meat sizzled on the hot stone.

"None at all." She said before scooping it up and licking it straight off the knife. "None at all." Jassin would have my head. If the Pentastar garrison had half an archive and half a brain, they might be able to do a simple search... Still, they were locked on this planet with no way of reaching their superiors. We would not be found out. "So... Half a can of meat when we get back?" She asked.

"Half a can." I repeated as we warmed our hands above the hot coals. She still had my knife.

"Since I am unarmed... How am I supposed to get back to that half can alive?" She asked. "May I have a weapon?" She asked, I laughed.

"You mean a blaster?" She nodded. "I ain't handing you a blaster to shoot me in the back. You may take the knife." I said and pulled the sheathe from my belt and handed it to her. "But if you kill me... Shaz will find creative ways to make you pay. Know this: I would hurt you only if you have broken my trust. Shaz will hurt you because he finds it fun." A stiff silence filled the air, and the light slowly died down.

"Don't make me eject the meat sir." She replied and stood up. "Perhaps it is time we made it back to the cave?"

"Yeah. Sure is."

 _Gaver village, village hall_

 _Midday_

As the hours passed, more and more village leaders came to Gaver village. At first the council hall had only housed its own representatives, but word spread quickly amongst the villages, and by two o'clock in the afternoon, leaders from six other villages had come as well. Men and women had taken the day off, filling the council hall to such an extent that the meeting had to be postponed and moved outside. Now Sai stood on a field in front of the council of Gaver and the Kambay Valley, and they in turn were backed up by the representatives from other villages.

"If you will Mr. Sai, Please re-state your terms." The leader of the council said. Starting the meeting for the third time today.

"Thank you." There were hundreds, if not thousands of lives depending on his next few words, yet Sai did not feel nervous. His heartbeat was slow and even. "I come before you, requesting the right to recruit men and women from your villages to fight against the Pentastar Alignment. In return we will reduce the tax from one half of your entire income to one tenth. Any spoils of war taken by soldiers recruited from your villages will be theirs to use as they see fit. Should you decide to withhold the rights of recruitment, we will bear you no ill feelings and leave you in peace." Sai stopped, and put on a devilish grin. "However!" He said loudly before the council could speak. "I was given new directives from my superior yesterday." The council grumbled amongst themselves, their faces full of surprise. "We will have to make you subjects to a tax on every item you sell, and also a tax on the use of our landing-platform. The terms will still be very favourable to you, but should you decide to join us, you will be exempt from these taxes. Thank you." Sai said and bowed to the assembly. The old lady had a nasty smile on her face. Malicious even. A fire burned in her eyes.

"It seems like you bring something new before us every time we see you Mr. Sai." She said, and Sai hear the quiet click of a holster being unbuttoned. His Mandalorians had their weapons within reach, but if the woman decided to shoot him, he would be dead before they could lift a finger. "Who knows what new terms this bandit will bring before us tomorrow?" She said, openly challenging his statement. "This is the first mention we have heard of a tax on their landing-pad."

"Aye!" The rest of the council agreed, including some of the newer members who had been there during the talks earlier in the day.

"The Pentastar Alignment at least told us what they took, and we held the papers in our hands. Mr. Sai changes his words every time we see him. His tongue slithers and spreads poison like a snake." Her verbal attacks seemed to strong for some of the councilmen, but none complained. "I would rather choose to live under a system where I know what is taken from me." She argued. "Mr. Sai here represents an instability." She was much too articulated Sai thought. She was not from these parts. "And it is hard to plan and live with insecurities." Again, the council agreed with her.

" _Bloody witch._ " Sai thought to himself, feeling the frustration grow. He covered it up with a neutral smile. "I agree with your representative." He said.

"We do represent an instability as the situation now stands, but I wish you to know that we have time. If you are willing, I can sit down with you for prolonged talks. This needs not be decided now." Sai said, falling back to his original plan. Instead of having to go to all the villages, they had come to him. "However... I do wish to know what I am negotiating with." Sai said, before the council could dismiss the meeting.

"What do you mean Mr. Sai?" The woman asked.

"Am I dealing with only the village council of Gaver and the Kambay Valley as it was originally intended, or am I speaking to a union of villages?" Sai clarified. "It is an unknown factor I would much like to clear up." Sai finished with a neutral smile on his face.

"The council will have to discuss that." The leader of the council said. "Until we have 'cleared up that unknown factor", the talks are postponed."


	6. Adjustments

"You cannot be bloody serious." Jassin said angrily into the comlink. Cael would not be popular when we came back. "I mean, I can see the bloody thing. We could open fire on it if we wanted to." Jassin barely managed to keep his mouth shut to hear the reply. It was twelve o'clock and we had found a clearing that gave us a nice overview of the garrison. I immediately jumped onto channel C-09 to see if Braelor had any update, but the channel was empty and silent. I waited until I was out of earshot to speak. I was hoping he had some information about Cael's change of heart.

"Braelor." I said into my comlink, before Jassin could release his rage again. For once in his life, Shaz knew to shut up. Melia was no more than two metres away from him. After my words of warning, she had kept an eye on him. I knew Shaz was a charming man on the surface, but give him a knife and let him loose on a squad of enemies... It would take a full lab of specialists to tell one from the other. "Braelor." I said again, checking my chrono. He should be up by now. Perhaps he was busy flying supplies from Mandalore. I stayed on the channel for five minutes listening for signs of life as well as to Jassin's raging.

"Do you really mean to tell me that I should pull back?" He asked. The reply was so loud everyone could hear it.

"Get your _shebse_ moving before tear you a new one!" Cael shouted. The order to haul ass was not something to disobey.

"May I ask the reason for it?" Jassin asked after regaining at least some measure of calm. It was not visible unless you knew the man. He received his answer and stepped into the forest to someplace he would not be easily heard. "Make sure the garrison doesn't go anywhere!" He ordered before he vanished.

"Right!" I said, assuming authority. " Shaz, you take Loback and Qill and set up a forward perimeter. I want to know if something is coming. Calo, climb a tree and get your binoculars out. I want an overlook over the garrison at least. The rest of you, back into the forest and fan out along the treeline." No one bothered questioning me and everyone put down their backpacks behind the treeline and followed my orders.

"Where do I fit in sir?" Melia asked, giving me a fake salute.

"You stay within two metres of me." I said, and loaded a power-cell into my rifle.

"Yes sir!" She saluted me again and settled in against a tree-trunk. Looking up, I saw that Calo was about to reach a thick branch to settle in on. I heard a faint click as someone switched to the channel I was on.

"Erdal?" Braelor asked.

"I'm here." I replied. "Shit is going down Braelor, or should I say not going down, what is going on back at base?"

"I have a feeling there won't be too many recruits for the next few days." Braelor said.

"Recruits? What are you saying?"

"The plan was to recruit new soldiers from the surrounding villages." He explained quickly. "That was the cargo I was flying. The villages one the other hand has put our recruitment out of action for the most part. Seems like they have formed some sort of coalition to discuss the 'recruitment rights' we're asking them for." I cursed mentally.

"How many people know of this?"

"Everyone by now." Braelor answered. "Heard Cael shouting from his office... To Jassin?"

"Yeah."

"I'll call you back when I have more solid intel. Braelor out." He said and cut went off the channel. We both knew what speculation did to the minds of soldiers, and there was no need to speculate right now.

"Friend of yours?" Melia asked.

"I'll introduce him to you later. He likes playing cards." I said, and her eyes lit up. I let my eyes fall on the walls surrounding the garrison. It was walled on three sides, south, west and east. The northern side was fortified by a single lonely peak, no more than three hundred metres high. It was no doubt fortified, and the job was done professionally. "Calo! What do you see?" He did not answer at first.

"Not good things. I can tell you that much." Calo said slowly. "I see camouflaged emplacements embedded in the mountain, but they have hatches covering them." he went on

"Those metal hatches you see," Melia began, "hide E-WEBs and line-of-sight artillery." She said. Whistling loudly afterwards. "It would tear you guys a new one should you try anything." Calo threw a small branch down at her. "Hey!" She said, throwing the branch back up. She hit every branch on the way up, which was an achievement in itself. Calo however, remained unhurt.

"I hate to say it Erdal, but I think she's right."

"Can you tell how many cannons?" I asked.

"Two is for direct fire, there are two others, high-arc artillery." Melia said. "Those are not embedded in the mountain."

"You know I can't take what your word for it." I said, and thought hard. "If I remember correctly though. A full artillery platoon has four pieces." Calo nodded in agreement. "Do you see anti-aircraft emplacements?"

"They won't need it with that many E-WEBs." Calo answered and got a small notebook and pencil out. He noted the various emplacements, counted vehicles, height of the walls, estimated thickness, etc. He was a mechanic to the bone. Now his job consisted of tearing things down rather than building them up. These preparations would help him do just that, so I let him work in peace.

"Do you like playing cards?" Melia asked after being quiet for a good long while. Jassin was sure taking his time talking to Cael.

"When I am not losing." I answered. "I've played Braelor a few times. I'll let you play him sometime." I went on, and switched back to our usual channel. "Anything to report Shaz?"

"Nothing. It is as quiet as can be." He answered. "See anything new?"

"Nothing worth mentioning." I answered. "I'll fill you in face to face." Time passed quickly and after thirty minutes, Jassin came walking back, looking a little less angry than he had before. I met him, and Melia followed not far behind. "How did it go?"

"Recruitment has turned into a political quagmire," Jassin explained, "and it will take some time to clear. In the meantime. You, Trace, Calo and Quill will dig down right here and establish a proper overlook."

"How invasive are we allowed to be to the terrain?"

"Trenches and a pillbox." Jassin answered. "No more. Retreat if the enemy spots you."

"Yes sir." I said, giving him a mock-salute. It always lightened his mood. "Can Melia stay with us?"

"As long as you never let her out of your sight." He answered. "I would prefer it if you sent her back with Shaz. Were is he by the way?"

"I sent them forward to establish a perimeter." I said. Jassin nodded approvingly, and called them back. He barked out the new orders from Cael when everyone was assembled. Everyone was displeased at having marched for two days for nothing. "Get used to it." Jassin said, and Melia backed him up. "A select few will remain here. We will help them dig a small trench and a pillbox on top of it. Then we have a small caf-break before waving goodbye. Is that clear?"

A chorus went up "Yes sir." Those of us who had shovels started digging while the others cut branches and found logs to build the pillbox and support the trench-walls. The result was satisfying enough, at least to Jassin. It would keep out light rain, but not much more than that. The enemy would have a hard time spotting us though. Quill dug the latrine while Calo and I made the trench more comfortable, laying a floor of branches and we dug out a cold-pit. It really was redundant at this time of year, but you never knew. We also dug out spaces for sleeping. At the end of the day, it started to look quite homely. Before they left, Shaz came to talk.

"I hear you want Melia to stay." He said, leaning hard against the pillbox. "It seems to me like you've been getting the most of her company lately."

"That's because she likes me best." I said with a grin on my face.

"I just wanted to remind you that we own her together." He said, there was no hint of humour in his voice.

"Of course!" I answered, realizing I was on thin ice. "I just want her to get to know our culture a bit." I lied. "So she does not end up insulting more people around camp than she have to."

"Good point." Shaz said. "You're better at that culture-stuff than me." He said. "You keep her. Just stay away from my parts." He said, grinned and winked at me. Melia sat inside the pillbox behind me. "Don't miss me too much Melia." He said, and winked at her.

"That will not be a problem." She answered, her words were filled with lethal venom. She did not like Shaz at all. Probably thanks to me.

"I'll leave you two alone." He said and turned to follow the rest of the squad. The sun was still in the sky, so they could at least a few hours left to march before calling it a day. Trace lay in a bed already, cradling his weapons. Calo was up in his tree taking notes. There was nothing left to do, so I walked in and sat down by Melia's side. Quill was out hunting for dinner. He was only allowed knives to hunt with. It had originated as a bet/challenge and he had accepted. He had sworn to come back with some kind of animal called "bushtail", but he had left only thirty minutes ago. For now, there was only Mandalorians at the lookout. Jassin had named it _Werd_ , Shadow, before we even started working.

"I hate him." Melia muttered under her breath, so low I barely heard it. She had good practice swearing at authority behind its back. I ignored it. "Are you going to convert me now?" Melia suddenly asked, turning her attention to me.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you not a religious group of crazy people?" She asked as if she had believed me when I told her that.

"I am not here to convert you." I said. "I just want to keep you away from Shaz." I explained. "But some cultural training could not hurt." I went on, and started thinking through a curriculum.

 _Gaver Village_

 _The Polished Mug, Tavern_

 _Three days later_

"Can I count on your support then Elkanah?" Sai asked the young man sitting opposite of him at the table. The Mandalorian had been buying drinks all day, speaking to various representatives, elders and envoys all day. They were all green as grass when it came to this kind of negotiating. Elkanah thought hard. Sai had used all rhetorical skills and subterfuge at his command. Elkanah was a key player. At least three other villages would join if he did.

"You have it. As long as we can use your space-port for free." He said and held his hand forward. Sai shook it eagerly.

"That will be arranged." Sai answered. The elders and negotiators were all easy to deal with when you talked to them one on one. When they stood gathered as they did during official negotiations, they were hard to deal with. Unpredictable even. Karaz was working around the clock as well. He was working in one of the erected tents where the negotiators took their breaks. "A pleasure doing business with you." Sai said, and Elkanah got up and left. The tavern was hot and full. The air was stiff and heavy as well, but that was how Sai did his negotiations. It was easier to listen in in an empty locale. He had learned that the hard way. He turned the comlink on and spoke to Karaz. "Elkanah is in. How are things at your end?"

"Rafe and Sulley both pulled out. Seems like Old Woman Rendt got to them first." Karaz answered. Rafe and Sulley represented fairly small villages, but even they could cough up some much needed money and recruits.

"I'll talk have to talk to her then." Sai said, finishing his third ale for the day. It did not taste nearly as well as Mandalorian _ne'tra gal_. They made dark ale here as well, but it was far too bitter for his liking. Bottles with clear liquid stood on shelves behind the bar, but Sai did not even wish to taste the spirits the locals brewed. "Keep working through your half. Sai out." He said and got up. No one paid attention to the Mandalorians any more in Gaver. They still believed them to be bandits or mercenaries, but not the locals were playing cards with them and challenging them to drinking-games. They had blended in nicely. As Sai stepped out into the sunlight and drew his first breath of clean air in hours, he did a headcount. All in all there were thirteen villages having pledged their support already. Seven were still undecided, and the Kambay council was among those. The old lady, Rendt, was working hard against them. So far she had managed to get three villages to turn down the Sai and his offer. While she could not sway her own council, her words still bore weight with the other villages. Sai would have to take care of her, one way or another. She had not been in The Polished Tankard, so she was either in the village hall, working her magic there, or in one of the tents. The village hall was closest, so Sai headed there first. Traders had come to sell overpriced food and trinkets of little or no value. Sai never looked at them as he strode through the masses. If they stopped in front of him, then so be it. Either they moved out of his path, or he moved them. Most of them were respectful and backed away. The building itself was guarded by a temporary militia, consisting mostly of local men with guns. Sai greeted one of them as he walked into the building. He knew their faces well enough and they let him pass. He looked forward to having them serve in the Mandalorian army. The lobby was empty now, most of the negotiations were going on in the tents instead of the large hall. If Rendt was in the building, she would be in the council-hall. That seemed to be her domain. Sai walked calmly up the stairs, preparing for the confrontation he had been avoiding on purpose. He had been saving her for last, gathering intelligence and preparing questions and answers. Walking down the hall leading to the council-chambers, he passed the room the militia used as headquarters. The door was open and there were two sleeping men inside along with three others playing cards. They did not even notice Sai as he walked past them. He stole a quick look into the re-purposed storage and laid eyes on some crates neatly stacked against the opposite wall. No care was taken to conceal them, and they were closed. On top of them were various parts for modifying weapons. Everything from barrels of different lengths, grips of various materials, scopes, some attachments. That was all Sai saw before he moved on, but it had piqued his interest. He would throw someone in his squad onto the case later. The voice of his current nemesis became louder as he came closer to the council hall. Inside sat Rendt in conversation with one of the representatives from an undecided village.

"You can count on my support." Rendt said as her victim was wavering in its resolve.

"The newcomers do offer good terms." Another female said. "And they are gathering more supporters every day."

"Of course they offer good terms." Rendt answered. "But as you have seen, they change quicker than water runs. Good terms today could become a curse tomorrow."

"They are severely outnumbered." The other woman answered. "They would not dare change their deal. Their whole army is based on men from our villages."

"And what happens when all your blood is spent? When your people lie dead and dying in the cold space or in front of a Pentastar laser-cannon? They are no army."

"You would know that better than me Vurd." The other woman said. Sai had never known Rendt's first name. Frankly he had not cared until now. Why would she know about armies? She as old all right, but she hardly looked the military type. A refugee from a war-zone maybe? It was likely he thought, and walked into the room. Vurd Rendt looked up and her eyes narrowed as she laid eyes on the thug. The other woman turned when she saw the look on Rendt's face. Sai recognized her as the woman representing one of the most remote villages. Joel's Anchor it was called. "I think this concludes our talk." She said and was ready to walk out.

"No need." Sai said. "I would much like to take part in this little talk."

"Is that why you are here?" Rendt asked, easing back on the hostility.

"I came here to talk to you." Sai answered, stopping halfway between the door and the women. "If I am not welcome here, I can remove myself." He offered, pointing a thumb towards the door. The representative from Joel's Anchor shook her head.

"I was just leaving anyway." She said with a smile and got up. "Please excuse me." She said and walked past Sai. When the door closed, Sai took her place in front of Rendt, looking hard into her eyes, still smiling. Rendt's eyes were hard and cold as durasteel-plating in deep space. Sai tried to look colder, but such a look came from years of experience. Something about her said that Rendt had stared down more men than Sai had shot in his entire life.

"I suppose congratulations are in order." Rendt said, breaking the hard silence. "You seem to be recruiting well." There was no pleasantness in her voice, any attempt at courtesy was just a thin veil disguising cold anger.

"We are doing just fine." He answered slowly. "Our numbers grow daily, but it will take time before the Alignment is driven off-world." Sai was sugar-coating the truth. Soon the sources of recruits would dry up, but the Alignment would not be able to stand against their army. _Werd_ had given them important information. Rendt said nothing for a while and just looked up and down Sai, scanning him as if he was some exotic and dangerous animal.

"What are you guys, really?" She asked out of the blue. "People say you come from the Rebellion, but I can tell you do not." She said. "I would say common thugs with a proper drillmaster." She went on.

"That is actually what I came here to talk to you about." Sai answered. "But the subject is not us. The subject is you, Rendt." He said, his smile grew a few millimetres wider. "I have a feeling you are very knowledgeable."

"You're right there." She said, suddenly slipping into a rougher accent, rolling the r's and even changing the pitch of her voice so it became lower. "And my knowledgeableness is what tells me to either defeat you democratically, or kill you." Her change of mood would have scared anyone else. Sai realized that all he thought he knew about Rendt was a carefully constructed facade. "You bring only instability. The Alignment may be oppressive, but at least I know that I won't be attacked by ruffians like you every day."

"You speak of experience then." Sai replied.

"I do." She said. Her dialect was very different from the local way of speaking. "And I know your kind well. Today you are our friend, but when the hard times come, you'll disappear like leaves in a storm." Rendt leaned back in her chair with a defiant look on her face. As she leaned back, Sai noticed a small but sharp bulge on her left side, almost hidden by her arms crossed over her chest. Sai raised his left eyebrow.

"What are you packing?" He asked, nodding right at the disguised weapon.

"No business of yours." She answered sharply. "I have learned from experience." She went on. "I suggest you remove yourself. Before I let my experience get the better of me." Sai stood up slowly, nodding repeatedly.

"You are a hard lady." He said, turned around and walked out the door. Behind him, Vurd Rendt wondered if she should draw her blaster and kill the man. Her experience got the better of her, and she stayed her hand.

 _Velyme, Landing Pad_

 _Four days later_

"Let us run the tests again shall we?" Braelor asked sarcastically. The four recruits that had been thrown his way had not been entirely useless. One had piloted a trader's ship once before he got homesick and came back. The three others were learning quickly.

"First rule of engagement!?" Braelor shouted to the men standing on the landing pad in front of _The Fourth Son_. Rain was pouring down from the skies, soaking them and Braelor.

"Identify enemy, scan for numbers and distance!" The men shouted back, their voices dampened by the heavy rain. They were shivering with cold. Braelor had already decided which of them would be trained as pilots and which as gunners. Right now he had three gunners and one pilot. The fellow with a longing for home had good spatial sense and could fly reasonably well, at least in simulations.

"Good!" Braelor shouted back. Merrigous usually took care of training with Braelor as is assistant, but he had more important business today. Cael was probably going over tactics for assaulting the enemy garrison again. Any contact with the observation-post had been strictly forbidden, and Braelor had followed that order. He did not envy Squad Three. It was surely raining as hard on them as on Squad Four. They however, had no proper roof. "I think it is time to let you back inside! Combat-drills! All four turrets, mount and activate simulations!" The men ran past him, eager to get under roof and into warmth. The simulations were simple and programmed by Braelor himself. The crew was pitted against six fighters and the ship manoeuvred on autopilot. The simulation was activated remotely and Braelor took his sweet time walking to the cockpit. It usually took two minutes before the fighters came into range. Different monitors activated as he came into the cockpit. Among the functions was the small holoprojector he used to watch the simulation. On the main monitor he had graphs showing individual and overall accuracy and power consumption, ship damage, shield condition and the status of the enemy ships. They were closing fast. "Incoming enemy fighters!" He said into the internal radio and his voice echoed through the ship. The ship dived so the upper turrets got a clear line of fire. The gunners were too slow, but managed to fire of six bursts each before the fighters passed. The turrets on the sides did slightly better, hitting a fighter in the main body twice. It was still flying, barely. The fighters returned fire, coming pairs doing strafing runs along the flanks and underside. The autopilot did its best to compensate for the enemy manoeuvring, but it took too long, and the gunners failed to hit their targets. Two of the fighters went down before the shield failed. A strafing run took out the right turret and on of the turrets on the roof. The rest of the fighters were damaged, but _The Fourth Son_ was destroyed before any more damage could be done to them. Their accuracy remained below thirty percent, and he knew it would remain that way for a long time. For now, an automated defence-turret was a better shot than them. Even an outdated model. None of them even dared to ask if they had done good. Morale was low.

"You did OK." Braelor said over the internal radio. "Had you had fighter-support, you would have done OK." He said, and noted the idea for the simulation. Having to distinguish friendly fighters from enemy fighters was of vital importance. Even a minimal fighter escort would have made a huge difference. It would make for a fun surprise for the next simulation. In the distance he heard one of the helmets he had given them clatter to the ground. Each of the helmets had been modified with a simple display for running said simulation. The parts had been hard to acquire, but Mandalore had gifted him with the equipment. "Those helmets are worth more than you are at the moment! Take care of them!" He shouted so all could hear. He checked his chrono. It was time for grub. "Get yourselves off my ship and get some food! I want you back here by seventeen-hundred!" Braelor shouted. "Dismissed!" They all walked out with their head low. If any of them had had dreams about becoming war-heroes, they had been thoroughly crushed, first by Marrigous and then by Braelor. Braelor had once again stacked up his personal storage. When they were all off the ship, he cracked open a box of fruit in their juices. The juices went first. It was thick, but he drank it, enjoying the sweet taste as long as he could before he dug into the fruit. As he slowly finished his sparse meal, he opened up the programming for the simulator and began modifying it. First came the friendly fighters, then he modified their appearance and colour-scheme. It was a simple job, and it was not well done either, but when he ran the debugging one and a half hour later he was satisfied when the program was clean. With childish glee, he ran a simulation, pitting six fighters against six fighters. The computer ran it well and it was a close fight indeed. It would indeed make a fine surprise indeed. A two-fighter escort would be sufficient, and the men would need to clock a lot more hours on the simulator before he let them loose in battle.

 _Pentastar Garrison_

 _The next day_

"Attention!" Major Nex shouted, and the entire battalion snapped to. Everyone but essential personnel stood in fine rows, sorted by squad and platoon. Five hundred boots stamped the ground at the same time. A basic podium had been built for the public address. "As you may or may not have heard! Magloran is under attack from an unidentified enemy. They have taken Velyme and fought of a scout-platoon. All attempts at contacting high-command has been unsuccessful. We are under siege, make no mistake of it." The men were silent and stared ahead at him. "The enemy has likely seized our armour, therefore, all helmets are forbidden. Anyone seen with a helmet on is to be detained on sight, or shot if aggressive. No exceptions. The base is locked down and until further notice, all leave is cancelled. All officers will receive new orders and schedules. Dismissed!" He shouted. It took a few moments before the men even dared move. The news was sinking in slowly. None of them had expected to be thrown into battle this soon. Least of all here. They were fresh recruits, getting their last pieces of hard training down. They had come here to march far and hard and practice field-entrenchment. Corporal Tassin was among the few who had seen battle before against the rebellion. If he gathered together the experienced soldier, he would have little more than a full platoon. Nex checked his chrono. The datapads of the officers would be updated in five minutes time. There was no way Nex could bring himself to question the loyalty of his men, but until the nature and origin of the enemy had been ascertained, no information could be given publicly. Nex stepped down from the podium. His personal guards followed close behind him. They had their helmets off and ribbons of deep-blue cloth tied around their right arm. He only had four men to spare for the duty of guarding him. If there was one thing Nex knew, it was to target the chain of command. Wipe out a commanding officer and the army would dissolve. Right now, he was the invaluable core that held the army together.

It was a short way back to his office inside the mountain-facility. On the way he passed along open hatches in front of firing-positions. The sun lit up the otherwise dark and barren hallway. Banners with the Pentastar Alignment insignia hung from the wall at regular intervals next to doors leading further into the facility. They had enough ammunition for a small war, and they had the facilities to recharge them. The E-11 rifles would take some modifications, but Nex was certain he could make them run on electricity instead of tibanna gas. They would need all the fuel they could get for the fighters. He turned left with the hall, going further into the mountain. His guards took up position outside his office and waited there. The office lit up automatically as he entered.

"Activate holoprojector." He said to his computer. A discreet acknowledging beep came from a small loudspeaker as the system recognized his voice. The small machine at the centre of the room whirred into action and hummed as the projector came online. "Bring up strategic overview, zone 0.0." He said. The garrison was the centre of the entire defensive plan and had been given the coordinates 0.0. A map of the local area rose from the projector. Above it were troop numbers. As the computer fed in information, the map grew more detailed down to the last blade of grass. Tactical data was fed in when half a minute passed. Patrol-routes became visible as green lines in the terrain and lines of fire became visible as red fields, overlapping as they were fed in. Every square inch within a five kilometre radius could be targeted and fired upon with 88% accuracy. Beyond that the accuracy dropped drastically, except for with heavy artillery. Except they did not have heavy artillery. They had mortars on the other hand. "Dispatch orders for combat-patrol, route Alpha One. Double strength. They leave in..." He checked his chrono again, "Ten minutes." He ordered. The very same second, an order was dispatched to two squads in Bravo-company. Their route went well within the range of direct-fire artillery, and Nex would make use of it. "Order the artillery company to their positions. Inform the patrol that they will have artillery-support on demand." New orders were dispatched. There were other squads ready for deployment, but there was no need to have them waiting in full combat-gear. They could be outfitted and out of the base within two minutes.

 _Observation-post Werd_

 _Twenty minutes later_

Whistling filled the air, like that of a small bird. Trace and I listened closely. First two quick and low-pitched whistles then one high and long.

"Danger." Trace said and grabbed his rifle. I already had mine in my lap, and I checked the power-levels for the fifteenth time today. Melie moved to the back of the pillbox as she was instructed and sat down, closing her mouth.

Seconds later, Calo came rushing in through the door.

"Patrol. Two squads." He said simply and sat down on the floor without even grabbing a weapon. That meant nineteen soldiers on the move.

"Route?" I asked.

"They advanced into the woods, about eight hundred metres from the outer wall and started coming toward us."

"Walking in a circle then." I replied. Eight hundred metres would take them within two hundred metres of us. We were at approximately nine hundred and seventy metres, give or take a dozen metres. "Spread?"

"Five metres between each man. Which gives them a ninety-metre wide net." Calo answered. "In other words, we're safe. Just shut up the trooper at the back," Calo went on, pointing at Melia, "And we'll be fine." I gave him a thumbs up and found a clean shirt from my bag, the last clean one in fact, and crawled over to Melia.

"Open wide." I said and she obeyed, looking a little hurt that I did not trust her. In her mind she probably felt, at least partially, like one of us. She was not. The fact that she was a POW never left my mind. Though I behaved friendly, I would not think twice before unloading a full magazine into her. "Thank you." I said and tied the shirt around her head. Looking at it, I realized it was more a symbolic gag than a functional one. "That is my last shirt. Don't drool to much on it." I said and crawled back to my regular spot by the door. She nodded and laid down to get some sleep. It was just was well. I found she had a hard time sleeping with a gun pointed directly at her. Then again, who would not? Unless they were a Mandalorian of course. Trace had healed considerably and he sat with his blaster ready. The paleness in his face had been replaced by newfound determination, but he was far from away from being well enough to participating in prolonged combat. As I looked around to see if there were anything that could cause unwanted noise, I noticed all of our looks. Our hair was greasy. I sniffed the air. "We can be glad they don't have animals for tracking." I whispered gently. Trace smelled the air and grinned.

"We smell like shit." He said and nodded. We all silently agreed and waited. Calo called Cael to inform him of the situation.

"Any chance for aerial reconnaissance?" He asked, after looking out through one of the hatches we had made in the direction of the garrison. Calo waited. "No visual, enemy is still far away. We're minimizing activity here... Do that." Calo said and shut down the connection. He turned and mouthed " _Restoration_ " to us. The Mandalorians understood. Quill pretended he did, and Melia was fast asleep. We would have to wait patiently. Half an hour passed before any answer came. We all sat in silence, moving only to get some circulation. Then suddenly, a weak signal came through on all our comlinks. It was faint at first, obviously short-range communication. I started searching through to find the correct frequency and before I knew it, I was listening in on the Pentastar patrol. No encryption or anything.

"Patrol." I mouthed and tapped my earpiece. It was mostly orders and chatter coming through.

"Tighten the left flank, do not disperse too much." The officer said. "Bend the left flank backwards as you've been told." The officer said. I could only assume his orders were obeyed, for he did not order it again.

"Why are they on an open frequency?" Quill asked silently. Everyone shook their heads. He did not ask the right question. He should have asked: "Why are they not using any encryptions?" Perhaps they were as green as grass, officers and troopers alike. Melia certainly had little combat-experience. She had kept her head clear enough to rush to the E-WEB during the firefight, but not to use cover whilst doing it. She sept soundly and quietly, as if the Pentastar presence somehow soothed her. I really should let her play pazaak when she came back. With Braelor. Republic-Senate rules of course. The patrol passed us without incident and I lost contact with them.

"They're gone." I said, and Quill breathed easily again.


End file.
